The Balvenie? Back to Speyside, are we? Are you still a little shy about drinking bacon? As to high jinks, the sage Michael Quinion wrote about it, in similar terms, at his excellent site:

www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-hig1.htm

And if I can hark back to your words about the Western economies, he also has in his current postings a somewhat unpleasant few lines on "basket case" (an expression we can apparently quite justly blame on America):

http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bas1.htm

Thanks for the link to Arrant Pedantry. He quotes James Milroy as saying, “Discussion is not part of the agenda of the prescriptive grammarian.”

I see this a lot in non-language peeving circles as well. In fact, you can substitute a number of other folks for "prescriptive grammarian" and you've identified the problem with the offerings of many experts and authorities. They don't recognize that others may have something worthwhile to offer on whatever the subject may be. At least they don't recognize that others may have a contrary point worth listening to; if you agree with them, they think you are very worth listening to (as long as you don't take too much time as they'd like to get back to saying it themselves, thank you very much).

Cheers,
Tim

Thanks for the link and for the kind words, John, though I'm not sure I want all the peevers headed my way. ;)

Not to be confused with "jinx."

Picky, on our recent vacation we toured the Highland Park distillery (which has the distinction of being the northern-most UK distillery). But after sampling many whiskys, we came home with a bottle of Scapa (less peaty, very aromatic). A wee dram is most pleasurable.

Cheers, Tim? Are you allowed to say that? And there was me thinking "Cheers" in that sense was a treasured BrE possession.

Oh well, cheers!

Picky

So you got to Orkney, Dahlink: how lucky you are! Highland Park I know, of course, but Scapa I've never experienced. But I shall - thank you for the recommendation.

Well Picky, since I am a proud recipient of the University of Sussex alumni magazine I will lay claim to "Cheers" when signing off, toasting or other appropriate occasion. Plus I'm rather a cheery guy. Jocular even.

Cheers,
Tim

Yes, Picky, we had the great pleasure of a few days in Orkney with very old friends who have retired there. We hope to go again some day. Let me know what you think of the Scapa--it was new to us.

Oh, I hadn't realised, Tim, that you'd been capngowned within these isles - apart from other millineries and gowneries I make no doubt. How excellent! Does that mean we can tax you?

Happily. Picky, I am not subject to such taxation since my studies did not result in a Sussex degree; it merely acted as a year between my undergrad studies here in the States and returning to begin law school. Apparently, though, one year of study was enough for them to put me on the lists for alumni fund raising drives.

Plus they address the dunning letters to "The Right Honorable", so I got that going for me.

Cheers,
Tim

And this is a good opportunity to mention that the University of Sussex, where Tim enjoyed the sea breezes while purporting to study during the pupal stage of his glittering legal career, is also the stomping ground of Dr Lynne Murphy, the American linguist who purveys the excellent blog Separated by a Common Language. Those who haven't visited it are recommended to do so.

http://separatedbyacommonlanguage.blogspot.com/