The One True Lookup Table design. Also known to people who have worked with them as 'Oh $%$$%$$ not that thing again'
It's a 'design' that looks so attractive to people who haven't worked with it but it's an absolute mess, causes all sorts of integrity issues, performance issues and to be honest should be avoided for most scenarios. There's very, very little benefit to that design and a whole lot of problems
Gail Shaw
Microsoft Certified Master: SQL Server, MVP, M.Sc (Comp Sci)
SQL In The Wild: Discussions on DB performance with occasional diversions into recoverability