They’re cosy, civilised and different without disturbing things too much. Let’s do this!
At last. I have been waiting a year for this moment. I must apologise to you all. Twelve months ago, in this very organ, nay in this very diary, I noted that we were now in the hazy, lazy, crazy days between Boxing Day and New Year and thus wished you all a happy “Christmas perineum”. It should have been, of course, “Merryneum”. It has been bothering me ever since. I can only put it down to post-turkey malaise. If it helps, it is only while Googling around this subject to write this entry that I have realised that the nickname “taint” – for the fleshly rather than festive part under discussion – refers to the fact that “’t ain’t the front, ‘t ain’t the back.” I think perhaps I knew this at some level but hadn’t consciously made the connection. Anyway. I offer the knowledge to you here in some kind of twisted act of contrition.
And now that I have lost all linguistic authority, let me weigh in on this year’s vexed question: is it, in polite company at least, “Twixmas” or “Twixtmas”? Well, unless you have a sponsorship deal with Mars, it’s Twixtmas. It’s the “between time” and the fact that we’re all stuffing ourselves with chocolate during it is merely incidental. (‘T) ain’t no argument otherwise.
