Sunday Rest: panic. Word Not To UseToday.

As far as I can tell from the shelves of my local supermarket, the panic-buyers of Britain intend to live for the next few weeks exclusively on a diet of spaghetti bolognese garnished with toothpaste.

And I hope they enjoy it.

Meanwhile, the rest of us will be taking slightly more rational decisions. This is probably not as much fun, but is more likely to be of long-term help to everyone.

In any case, how healthy is it going to be to have been spotted unloading massive amounts of food from the car when other people start feeling a bit peckish?

Sunday Rest: panic. This word is rather new in English. It arrived during the 1600s from the French panique, ultimately from the Greek panikos, which means coming from Pan, the Greek god. 

The god Pan is well-known for lurking about in woods terrifying people with his horns, exceptionally hairy legs, and really really fatuous pipe music.



illustration by Walter Crane.