Word of the day: heavage

I forgot to mention that my post on smirting was mentioned recently on Buzzfeed – the day the smoking ban came in, I believe.

Chuffed to be picked up by Buzzfeed, I had a bit of a look around. In amongst a lot of guff about giant fish, disposable underwear and third nipples (it's a classy site), I did come across a page on a new word - heavage.

Heavage is man cleavage - you know, when the boys have their first couple of shirt buttons undone to show off the top of their chest. Not something I often do.

It's such a new word that there isn't even a Wikipedia entry on it. However Googling it seems to suggest that Jon Bon Jovi is a particular offender....

Don't worry, I know some of you are sensitive souls so I'm not going to post a picture!

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(In case you were wondering, Apus is on leave yet again and will be away until some time in August - one of the perks of being a chief sub seems to be that you get several months' holiday a year...)

Word of the day: smirting

Today's word is something that people in England are going to be a lot more familiar with come July 1, and which is already a common phenomenon in the rest of the British Isles and in certain other parts of the globe. Yes, it's smirting.

Smirting is a portmanteau word (another one!), a combination of smoking and flirting, and refers to the practice of smokers flirting outside public places where smoking is banned, such as pubs and restaurants.

According to Wikipedia, the term is thought to have originated in the Republic of Ireland some time after the public places smoking ban came into effect there in March 2004. An article the following year in the Observer suggests "having a quick drag has replaced speed dating as the best way to spice up your love life".

England, get ready to smirt!