ENGLISH is such a rich and extensive language that we are rarely lost for words.

And if we are, we just make them up.

"Adorkable" is the latest example of our collective creativity. It barely needs defining, so perfect is the meld of "adorable" with "dork", but its entry in a new edition of the Collins dictionary reads: "socially inept or unfashionable in a charming or endearing way."

An illustrated edition could come with picture clues: London Mayor Boris Johnson, Britpop star Jarvis Cocker or TV detective Colombo, are fine examples of well-known adorkables.

The word has won its place in the next edition of the dictionary following a vote by Twitter users, fighting off challenges from "felfie" (a farmer selfie) and "fatberg" (a large mass of solid waste clogging a sewage pipe).

Methinks the best word won and also that is it right and proper that dictionaries acknowledge our changes in language and society.

With this in mind, I decided to have a spot of fun at our politicians' expense and come up with some new words. Let's see if they catch on:

Clegg-up: To be elevated to a position of authority or power without having displayed sufficient merit

Gove-for-it : To surreptitiously plot personal advancement while denying this singular ambition

Farage: A reference to political canvassing: to roam the country picking support from the wastelands of the main political parties

Cabled: As in "you've been Cabled"; to be stabbed in the back by someone you thought was a friend

Photo-flop: When a photo-opportunity goes wrong

Hictoryous: A set back - or hiccup - in an ambitious plan (usage: Theresa May's efforts to usurp Michael Gove in the Conservative party's leader-in-waiting contest have been hictoryous following the row over extremism in Birmingham schools.)

Pelfie: A selfie by a politician.

Welfie: A selfie by a politician who has gone to Eton.


SO the faltering campaign against Scottish independence has had a rebrand.

With less than 100 days to go before the big vote, the Better Together camp have come up with a new slogan: "No thanks".

It's a canny move - and campaign leaders should have used it from the start.

At the end of the day, in the ballot box, people will be faced with a simple question and have to give a straight forward answer.

For voters in Scotland, it will be the biggest electoral decision of their lives.

And yet it will come down to two words: Yes or No.

The "Yes" camp, led by the impressive Alex Salmond, have accused the opposition of running a negative campaign.

That's unfair, as it is surely the Yes campaign's job to make the case for independence and for the opposition to point out its pitfalls.

I shall declare my hand: as a Scot, I am opposed to independence, but very much for the Scottish Parliament, and would welcome more

devolution, and also more federal powers for Wales and the regions of England.

I am opposed to independence for the same reasons that I am against Britain leaving the EU. In a global world, I believe there is strength in numbers. And in the week that we have commemorated the 70th anniversary of D-Day and also marking the centenary of the First World War, it is worth remembering why the European nations decided to make a union to promote peace and prosperity.

If the Europhiles need a slogan for their efforts to keep Britain in the EU, they could do worse than snatch the one just ditched by the Scots.

Better Together. You bet we are.


ANDY Murray has picked a new coach in the shape of female French tennis star and twice Grand Slam champion Amélie Mauresmo .

This is great news for tennis; Andy needs a coach to help him focus as he prepares to defend his Wimbledon title later this month, but also it's a vote of confidence in female players.

But who would be in Mauresmo's trainers? Apparently the appointment is initially only for the grass-court season. Andy Murray hasn't lost on grass since the Olympic final in 2012. He's since won Queens and Wimbledon.

Good luck to them both.