Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Foil

Foil: noun - metal hammered or rolled into a thin sheet; also, metallized plastic film; a heraldic representation of a leaf; thin layer of any material, a paring; thin leaf of metal placed under a precious stone to increase its brilliance or under a transparent substance to give it the appearance of a precious stone; a sheet of metal foil, tin amalgam, fixed behind the glass in a mirror to act as the reflector; something or person setting off another by contrast; architecture - small arcs between cusps on a Gothic window or arch.

In literature, foils are characters who react to one another’s quirks; like Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, or Jeeves and Wooster.

‘Shirley wrapped Simon’s sandwiches in aluminium foil to keep them fresh for his trek across the desert.’

‘Ernie Wise acted as a foil for Eric Morecambe’s jokes.’

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Bête noire

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Bête noire: noun phrase – French; literally means ‘black beast’; bane of a person’s life; someone or something insufferable, an object causing aversion.

‘Rather appropriately, the hound in ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ could be described as the ‘bête noire’ of the piece.’

‘Along with many authors of renown, Hemingway found his bête noire was excessive drinking.’

1 June 1946 – TV licences were first introduced into the UK. For those who don’t know, the British Broadcasting Corporation isn’t allowed to use advertising to raise revenue (long may it remain so) and has to rely on the income accrued by issuing a licence for viewers and listeners to its services. This has long been a bone of contention for those who believe in the supremacy of the free market. But, for those of us who prefer not to have our entertainment, education and information constantly interrupted by banal pleas for our money, the licence system allows the BBC to provide a broadcasting service second to none, which remains respected the World over.