Thing To Do Today, Or Possibly Not: bicker.

Look, I can't see what your problem is.

Okay blog is short for web log, and so technically I suppose I should really be using this space to tell everyone how long I spent yesterday trying to find the email address of - wait for it - a PUBLICITY EXPERT - but, I don't know, I decided I'd rather write about something interesting instead.

Oh, is that right? You think that someone who writes about words should use them in their purest and original sense, do you?

Yeah, right. Nice argument. Though when I say nice I don't mean either carefully defined or pleasant. No, I'm using nice in its original 13th century meaning of foolish.

Satisfied?

What? So now you want to know why, if it's so petty and irritating, bicker is a Thing To Do Today?

Well, it's because bicker has other meanings, hasn't it. Like to run swiftly. Okay it's usually used to describe a stream, but if you're going to hang about causing trouble then do feel free to vacate the premises as swiftly as you like.

Bicker can also mean to flicker or glitter, like the teeth of a tiger or some other ravenous beast. Not that I'm trying to cause you any alarm or despondency, you understand. I wouldn't do that.

Not. When. I'm. Feeling. So. Calm.

Grrrrrrrr!

Thing To Do Today. Or Possibly Not. Bicker. This word turned up in English in the 1200s (as nice did) but people are still arguing about where it came from.