What does Paul McCartney have on his arms that most people have on their chimneys?

Spot the frippet 3.

Oh, this is a lovely word. Flaunch. A bit of fling and a bit of haunch - two other fantastic words - all rolled into one.

But what can one be? I mean, what could Sir Paul McCartney have on his arms? Tattoos of Father Christmas? Blackbirds singing in the dead of night? A pair of small television aerials?

Well, none of these as far as I know. HERE are Sir Paul's arms - and in this case arms means his patterned shield. Each knight has his own pattern because of course you can't tell who's who when they've got their helmets on, and biffing the wrong guy is really embarrassing.

And the flaunch? Well, there are two of them - they're the black fish-shaped bits with the gold line running through them that are on either side of the central golden guitar.

As for the chimneys...Well, we are lucky enough to have flaunches all round us. HERE is a very badly-made one. Because as well as being a pattern on a shield, a flaunch is the very important ring of mortar that stops the rain getting down the join between a roof and a chimney.

Flaunch. From the French word flanc, which means, not surprisingly,  flank.

You've probably been relying on one all your life and never known it.


Hey, and isn't it interesting how not knowing the name for something can make it invisible?