So the Mail seems to assume that John Humphreys has some special authority to pontificate on matters of English usage. I don't see this myself. I've always regarded him as a linguistic reactionary of the most irritating ('standards are falling!') kind.

So you don't see him as a national treasure, then

'Back in the day'. Heard this three times yesterday on the wireless. Only recently noticed the expression, although I see there was a film of the same name in 2014 and I have just discovered from the internet that it goes back to at least 2001.

I suppose it's quite a nifty alternative to 'back in the good old days.'

An Americanism, I believe - I think I've read it several times in Lee Child books. The author is in fact a Brit originally but the books are all US-based with an American action hero (Jack Reacher - 6ft5in and built like a brick outhouse in the books, played by the vertically-challenged Tom Cruise in the film - but I'm going off-piste).

But, on the other hand 'fantastic' (US 'awesome' = 'wonderful') is a Britishism - at any rate according to President Obama, in his recent interview with the BBC . I didn't know that.

The President claims to like 'fantastic' and to be encouraging his staff to use it.

President Obama should go to Glasgow and learn the wonders of "pure dead brilliant"!

'Saffrn' or 'saff-ron'? 'Hurricn' or 'Hurri-cane'? 'St John's wert' or 'St John's wart'?

The latter in each case. Let's not have a controversy (definitely not a con-tro-versy).

That's disappointing. I'd hoped that the answer would be the former in each case. However. You can't stand in the way of progress.

''spergy' just noticed on the SE26 forum. Apparently it is usually spelt 'spergy' and means 'socially inept' - a contraction of 'Asperger's'. New to me.

STF is full of offensive terms, posts, threads, and people. Rather pleased with myself for not contributing in any way to the hate filled agenda on the site for four months now.

Have just discovered Google's ngram viewer:
https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?co...on%3B%2Cc0

Enjoy.

Thanks, lacb. There is even clearer evidence that in this country the aggressive alien 'train station' is driving out the native 'railway station' here.
I clearly remember the first time I heard someone ( a native south Londoner) say 'train station' - it was in the late seventies. Is it a regional/class thing, I wonder?

It's a 'fewer syllables' thing as far as I'm concerned.

Yes and I also find it more consistent too. We use a bus station and would never dream of calling this a public highway station!

Ahem, bus stop or bus terminus. Not bus station.

Eh? What's wrong with bus station? A terminus can just be a stop where buses terminate and don't pick up. A station is somewhere out of the main flow of traffic where buses running several routes start and terminate. Like Crystal Palace Bus Station. Or Victoria Coach Station. That's what TfL calls 'em.

In the Christmas dinner context, I've noticed for the first time this year the expression 'pig in a blanket', which apparently means a sausage wrapped in bacon. Who invented this term, I wonder?

Don't know but pigs in blankets, along with their relative devils on horseback, have been around for a long time. Decades to my knowledge.

I've obviously had a sheltered life.