Thing To Do Today: bolster something.

 A couple of weeks ago I caught a glimpse of a headline in the online Telegraph newspaper:

Furlough Chancellor extends scheme to 

lobster wobbling economy

Well, I was amazed. I hadn't know there was any money to be made out of lobster wobbling. And how - and, indeed, why - would anyone want to wobble a lobster? 

The mind boggled.

And then I read it again and discovered that it wasn't lobster, but bolster.

Ah well.

Thing To Do Today: bolster something. To bolster something is to strengthen and support it. If you're an architect you might do this with a beam of wood, if you're a dress-maker you might do it with padding, if you're into comfort then you might make your bed more supportive with a long pillow. 

lady playing the tambura sitting against a bolster. San Diego Museum of Art

If people are sad then you might bolster their morale by organising a singalong.

Though, to be realistic, this might actually destroy it.

The word bolster in Old English was bolster.