One of my Speccie colleagues, Kerry Wakefield, recently alerted me to a new word, ‘snerdle’, which, she said, names ‘a long-cherished activity, well-practised but only recently named!’ According to the Urban Dictionary ‘snerdle’ means ‘to cuddle with, rub faces and noses with, and generally make a fuss over your pets’. Which reminds me of a TV commercial I have been unable to avoid over the past few months. In the ad a young woman is sitting on a park bench when her dog jumps up and she does exactly this – rub faces, cuddles and the rest. (Mind you, I have no idea what the commercial was advertising, so perhaps it didn’t work for me!) The Urban Dictionary says this meaning for ‘snerdle’ dates back to around 2008. However (you knew there was a ‘however’ coming didn’t you? Yes, the world of language is full of uncertainties), there also appears to be a Yorkshire dialect verb ‘to snerdle’ which has a related, but broader meaning – namely: ‘to nestle closely, wrap up comfortably in bed, or go off to sleep snugly’. This verb (they say) is used to describe snuggling or getting cosy, and can apply to children, pets, or anyone seeking comfort. So far, ‘snerdle’ is found in none of the major dictionaries, but the Collins Dictionary has included it among ‘new word suggestions’ – words that have been nominated for inclusion in the big book, but have not yet produced enough evidence to warrant their inclusion. They say this word was submitted for consideration in November 2025 (which fits in with Kerry’s ‘recently coined’ comment.) The Collins boffins say that in their view ‘snerdle’ means ‘to wrap up snugly beneath the covers’. Then they give an example of the word being used in a sentence that is slightly different: ‘The kittens snerdle together on the windowsill, peering at the snowfall.’ (Well, not all that different, I grant you.) So, is ‘snerdle’ a word you will be adding to your (already vast) vocabulary any time soon?

The leader of the ‘Patisserie Brigade’ Noël Bodin has died at the age of 80. You might think you have never heard of the ‘Patisserie Brigade’ but you have. Remember occasional news stories about celebrities, politicians and public figures being hit in the face with a cream pie? Ah, yes, that’s the ‘Patisserie Brigade’ at work! Many of the people hit with a custard cream pie by Noël Bodin were French political and cultural leaders, but his targets included Bill Gates and Bill Clinton. He is credited with a total of 28 distinguished targets in his pie-ing stretching from 1969 to 2023. Noël Bodin was born in Belgium in 1945, and spent his life as a comedian, writer, critic, actor and notorious pie thrower or entarteur (I take it than an ‘entarteur’ is a person who ‘tarts’ someone). He was described as ‘the French-speaking world’s best-known prankster’. He led what he called the ‘International Patisserie Brigade’. Godin described himself as an ‘anarcho-confectioner’. He once wrote a book about his exploits called (very cleverly) Cream and Punishment. The word ‘patisserie’ means ‘food made by a pastry cook, or pastries collectively, or a shop that sells such pastries’. The word came into English from Middle French around 1594. But here is the weird part – the Oxford says that it went into French from Scottish! At least that appears to be what they’re saying – they certainly refer back to an earlier obsolete Scottish dialect word for a pastry cook or pastries (who would have thought?)