Unparliamentary language: a rant.

The British House of Commons has become a pit of vituperation and rage.

The speaker (a small, pompous, rude man named Bercow) seems unable to restrain the members of parliament from intemperate speech. As a result of this, rational discourse and reasoned argument are being suffocated.

And what is the point of parliament without rational discourse or reasoned argument?

To remind members of parliament why they get paid, here is a list of unparliamentary language (that is, the language not allowed to be used in the House of Commons).

(The list contains one or two swear words, but nothing you haven't heard before.)

Bastard, blackguard, coward, deceptive, dodgy, drunk. falsehood. git. guttersnipe, hooligan, hypocrite, idiot, ignoramus, liar, pipsqueak, rat, slimy, sod, squirt, stoolpigeon, swine, tart, traitor, and wart.

The only trouble with that list is, of course, that it does make it difficult to describe the actions of rather a lot of them.

Word To Use Today: one unparliamentary. Pipsqueak is fun to say. It means insignificant of contemptible. Pip in this case may come from the word meaning annoyed, which comes from Latin pituita, phlegm.