Quiver, what’s the strongest arrow in your ____? 1. What is the most powerful thing you can do here? 2. I am having a weird daydream in which we have all been transported back to medieval times, as in “Prithee nuncle, ask your fletcher to prepare your finest shaft and dispatch it forthwith!”, or some such twaddle; a somewhat weaker version of the military metaphor, standing little hope against bombs, rockets, and more modern fighting equipment.

Overheard (but not uttered) by Alex Dunsdon.

Rootedness: 1. Not present in any conventional dictionary, but probably trying to convey a degree of anchoring or stability. 2. Part of a long line of twisted words that add ‘ness’ to the end in the vain hope of suggesting something more rigorous; patently thin; not rooted at all; flapping free in the breeze; most commonly parked on a childish chart alongside a tree, possibly with a watering can over the top. (see Realness)

Cushion management: 1. New team of company directors who do exactly the same as their predecessors, simply following on from the impression left before. 2. Nothing really changes in companies – despite triumphant announcements and mighty fanfares, it’s the same old stuff every year; world-weary maintenance of the status quo.

Omnishambles: 1. Cockup on all fronts, originally from Armando Iannucci’s TV series The Thick of It; word migrated into mainstream government to ridicule persistent inconsistencies in policies and taxes. 2. Ragbag of misguided notions and poor execution; random set of initiatives with no coherence and crap delivery.