Stuck on what to say? Try these words that have recently been added to the dictionary

On being told that they had been bitten by a venomous snake, most eight-year-olds would panic. Not Nicholas Jubber; he was not terrified but disappointed by a diagnosis that contradicted his own. Nich

Spooky tales that resurrect the mythological past

ONE OF THE MOST GRIMLY FUNNY POEMS OF the past century is Philip Larkin’s “This Be the Verse,” with its opening salvo about how our parents invariably mess us up. Larkin used a saltier word for “mess,

Our dear mum, Barbara, who is now ninety years old, has been an avid reader of “The People’s Friend” magazine for many years. Her mother, Grace Mackay, also originally was a loyal reader for years. Mu

Tennyson’s embrace of science and catastrophe theory