BooksReviewStephen Sedley finds the insights of a senior law lord clear and compellingEverybody believes (or claims to believe) in the rule of law, but how many people could tell you what it means? Although Tom Bingham, recently retired from the post of senior law lord and now free to speak his mind, has spent his life in its service, even he does not find defining it that easy. But his short book is a remarkable essay on the subject, stooping from panoptic heights of generality to brief but meticulously detailed case studies drawn principally from cases in which he himself has been involved (he engagingly likens these to Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's choice of eight of her own recordings on Desert Island Discs). Read More...
SEMANTIC ENIGMASWhat is the origin of the term to "bottle it", meaning to back out, give up? Cath Bennett, Deptford, London
In cockney rhyming slang, "bottle" means "arse" (bottle and glass). Originally, you would "lose your bottle" - i.e. be so scared as to lose control of your bowel function. This has been shortened down to just "bottle it". Paul Wright, Rochford Bottle was 19th Century slang for courage or nerve and the phrase came about then. Read More...
TelevisionThe drama about warring mid-18th-century brothels has sex, backstabbing and strong-willed female characters but why isn’t anyone talking about it?
Harlots has a huge and magnificent cast, intricate and labyrinthine plots involving ingenious backstabbing on a grand scale, and it has even developed its own brilliantly lewd lexicon. Yet the most confusing thing about it is why, after two outrageously camp and emotionally powerful seasons, it isn’t a TV phenomenon yet. Read More...