A complete horlicks!

Ah, deep joy this week to discover that in my choice of relaxing bedtime beverage, I've suddenly become a trend-setter! Who says? Well, the manufacturer of Horlicks. Don't believe me? Well, check out the link...

Because this week's news item is that the aforementioned drinks manufacturer is having to employ a PR company to help resolve the problem that its brand name has long been part of the English lexicon as a slang term for a complete mess of a situation. It had almost completely died out, though - well, until the Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, used it to describe the situation surrounding the WMD dossiers, and "bang" the word came back to life with a vengeance! Just type "Horlicks" into Google and see the impact for yourself.

To check it out you need to fill in a little Telegraph registration form but it's all free - just don't tick the boxes offering you junkmail.

The second link is a little something I found whilst flirting around with Mr Google. It's a British food and drink dictionary for Americans. A useful perspective on regional variation in the lexicon of English (especially if you just did that in class with me today!).


Steaming Horlicks fed up with slang use of its name

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