Spot the Frippet: card.

How sad it is when friends die - even, and in some cases especially, the long-sundered and seldom-seen ones.

On the other hand, it does make the Christmas card list shorter.

For those friends who remain, and to whom cards must be sent, what news to convey along with the message of joy etc? How to avoid the Scylla of self-pity while dodging the Charybdis of smugness?

Is there anything to tell, anyway, apart from holidays and illnesses, builders and children? May we sprinkle tragedy among the glitter, triumph over the crib?

Still, even if one eschews Christmas cards altogether there will still be no difficulty in spotting a card, or a piece of card. A library card (which probably isn't actually made of card at all, but never mind) a cereal packet, a playing card...

...or perhaps a card in human form. This is one of those wearisome people who think they're funny. 

Unfortunately Christmas only encourages them. 

Ah well!

Spot the Frippet: card. This word comes from the Old French carte, from the Latin charta, a leaf of papyrus, from the Greek khartēs and before that probably from Egypt.