Robin, I didn't miss the joke, but I thought I'd discovered it, when in fact someone else had put it there in the first place... Does that make sense? I'm too befuddled and under-caffeined right now.

It's a bugger of a language to pin down with rules (English, that is), and that's why I love it.

I read somewhere (can't remember where) the argument that if a word disappears from usage (because it's banned or whatever) then the associated feelings, emotions etc also disappear with time. Sort of, if you don't name the thing, whatever it is, it ceases to exist. I can't remember the details of the argument, but I was sold on it. So, a rich, flexible, descriptive language full of nuances makes for richer life experience.