Nice one, Barbara. Bardot worship is a better meaning. And I bet you were old enough to enjoy the film. I remember The Vikings movie. One scene has stayed with me - the Angles had a man on watch for Viking invasion; his whole face fills the screen as he screams "Vikings" to alert the villa...

Lest this word relinquish all its usage, I am suggesting it now. It was certainly in vogue when I was a schoolboy. "Stop fidgeting, boy", but you don't hear it much these days. Perhaps it has been replaced by ADHD.

And presumably English 'stage' (which it very closely resembles) is also directly related?

I am no Greek scholar but maybe we could use a new word Kallography to mean beautiful prose - not calligraphy, beautiful script. It doesn't include the nuance of beautiful writing about inconsequentials. Perhaps proper Greek linguists could add that nuance and still create an attractive word?

I am with you George. The word has little interest for me if its about inane writing. But if the word 'fine' is added, then it becomes most useful. And your Updike poem is a great example. I much enjoyed the links.

Cole Porter was a clever man. I can't put the music to the words, but the words are fine.

Certainly an interesting hypothesis, Brogine. The verb needs to sound more dynamic. I will have to consider this one over time! No argument that some generalities can be valid - certainly as generalities. Also interested to read that sally (forth) is from the original root that spawned salire, to le...

Well Barbara, you certainly don't sound crazy to me. And really, even eccentricity (or Slava's eccentrality) seem a little beyond the activities you describe. It all sounds thoroughly normal although certainly more adventurous than most. Good luck with it all and do continue to have fun despite the ...

So Barbara, do you need more or less money than you currently have, in order to be considered eccentric? Is a crazy person more or less wealthy than an eccentric one?

Isn't obfuscation generally a deliberate or intended obscuring? Otherwise we should surely use obscure. Am I right? 'Your use of long Latin based words tends to obscure your meaning' suggests gentle advice to find clearer words. But when it obfuscates your meaning, it suggests you are deliberately d...

Well done all round. The team there has certainbly provided much joy to a lot of people, and yes, we have learned a fair bit on the journey. Thank you, team.

The context of your Canadian quote, bnj, suggests a meaning like "stomping on". Sort of similar to The Good Doctor's meaning 3. But there are so many better words that don't carry mystery or ambiguity in their meanings. I would call it sloppy usage.

Cobber is old fashioned, but it is a generic name for a man whose name you don't know but with whom you are passing the time of day. "G'Day, Cobber." Equivalent of Jimmy in Scotland, Jacques in France and Tommy (I think) in England of the first world war era.

Well, meaning 2. is the one I am familiar with. Comedians and comic writers use bathos in humour. "I was beaten by the world champion, the national champion, last year's winner and my own failure to turn up in time for the start." It is a very useful technique for adding colour and interes...

This is a modern word (that is, it was invented in my lifetime). It was very popular in the days of Harold Wilson and Edward Heath in post-war England. It was not applied to government so much as to everyday life. It was used to start to dismantle the class system that so pervaded British society, b...