Spot the frippet: beard.

The Word Den has talked about the action of bearding someone, but not about beards themselves.

You never know what you might find in a beard: this is their essential fascination and mystery, as Edward Lear has explained in words and pictures.

There was an Old Man with a beard

Who said, 'It is just as I feared! -

Two Owls and a Hen,

Four Larks and a Wren

Have all built their nests in my beard.

You can never be sure who is behind all the fuzz, either: sometimes it might even be a dragon.

Or a vulture.

And although you might think you know where beards are to be found, this is a bearded tit.

Bet you've never dreamed of such a thing!

Spot the frippet: beard. This word has been exactly the same ever since Old English times - that's before 1150. It comes from the Latin word barba.