Words

English has a vast vocabulary of around 170,000 words in current use and 47,000 obsolete according to the Oxford Dictionary.

I love words, the pun and the humour, the double meaning , the double entendre. Words are escape mechanisms in debate and the legal profession has created a whole industry out of them.

I have never , yes never completed a crossword yet I love discovering new words . In a London 5 star hotel recently I asked the waiter from Ukraine for water. He asked me still or sparkling and yes I replied I still want water. He didn’t get it till I explained.

Status quo Ronald Reagan said was English for ‘ look at the mess we are in ‘ and George Carlin said that ‘ initiative was an idea that hadn’t worked ‘ . Lawyers rarely give straight answers , ‘ then again ‘ , ‘ on the other hand ‘ , ‘ notwithstanding ‘ ( a sex position possibly) , you get my drift. Liars are generally credited as being ‘ economic with the truth ‘ and Politicians never answer the questions because they don’t have the answers.

The lady serving coffee in the Farm shop recently when asking me to pay on the machine kept saying to me ‘ just put it in ‘ , contactless now becomes contact in a moment of cardus interruptus.

I’m regularly asked ‘ how do you feel ‘ and that is usually with my arms especially at night in the dark as I make my way to that which is convenience. Alas it’s feel emotionally that they enquire and that comes from the heart, that great pumping station.

As London matures and cross cultivates with 83 languages spoken there daily the old Cockney dialect with rhyming slang is disappearing. No more ‘ apples and pears ‘ – stairs, no more ‘ Duke of Kent’- rent. In fact the London Taxi driver that barometer of the British economy is the last stand , a relic on the road. Black cab driver earns less in 2024 than he did in 1984 in real terms. Some may say fare enough, others think that’s unfair, but let me give you a tip when traveling in London , always tip your cabbie . Now if you’re confused that’s ok , you’re not alone , electricians always get confused.

Words spoken can destroy and build , be careful what you say and extend your vocabulary into the wonderful world that it opens. Back soon, or Front or side soon.