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Sentimentality
A sweet sadness that would descend upon the Victorian mind, esp. when contemplating some object of affection irretrievably lost; the taboo emotion of the modern era. |
Sequel
Evidence that more is usually too much. |
Serial Killer
A hunter, dictator, butterfly collector or anyone else whose hobby is the extermination of life. |
Sex-change Operation
Surgical transformation of an extroverted body into an introverted one, or vice versa; the ultimate gesture in the quest for self-improvement. |
Sexuality
One's bedroom demeanour worn outside the bedroom, like a badge or a hairdo to be admired by curious onlookers. Although it is commonly suspected that the British engaged in sex before the 1960s, it appears to have been a well-kept secret, at least among the middle classes; as far as we know, Vera Lynn and Richard Dimbleby never discussed their amours on talk shows. Since the 1960s public personalities have tended increasingly to be pubic personalities. |
Shallowness
The root cause of chronic good health, popularity at college, appearance on the fiction bestseller lists and gainful employment on local television news broadcasts. A most useful commodity, especially in combination with a pretty face. |
Shave
What trendy young men do each morning to simulate the appearance of a three-day growth. |
Shopping Mall
The market-place that killed the high street; a synthetic conglomeration of shops and teenagers reproduced along more or less identical lines throughout the country, so that intelligent visitors may experience the same chill of alienation wherever their travels take them. |
Shoulder Pads
The part of a baseball player's uniform designed to make him look as fearsome as a female executive. |
Side Effects
Symptoms of a cure that induce nostalgia for the original disease. |
