Thing Not To Do Today: slouch.

(This word rhymes with ouch!)

To slouch along is to walk in a slow, aimless, uneven and sulky sort of a way: to slouch in a chair involves prolonged drooping.

To be no slouch is to be very good at something, as in she's no slouch at tennis. You can't, however, be a slouch at tennis - at least, you can't use that expression and have anyone think you can speak English.

If you're lazy, as in slouching around in your pyjamas all day. you're a slouch.

I know myself that to slouch is a great temptation, especially when stuck at home with not quite enough to do. Looking at the sky helps lift the posture and the spirits. 

The best tip of all, though is always to try to arrive at places nipples first.


Fijian Quarter Guard. Photo by Peter Reft


Just trying to do that is really rather cheering...

...even to those of us without actual nipples.


photo by Alan Rockefeller

Thing Not To Do Today: slouch. No one knows where this word came from, but it arrived in English in the 1500s, when it meant lazy. The Old Norse slokr meant lazy fellow.