Rhadamanthine

On "Brain of Britain" on the radio today, a contestant was asked for the adjective meaning "uncompromisingly honest or just" which is derived from the name of one of the sons of Zeus.

Pause. Then the chap said drily, "Frank."

I love it. So much better an answer than the actual one, which is "rhadamanthine" from Rhadamanthus. Never heard of him. Heard of Frank, though.

The Johnsons

Two recent snippets from the radio.

Snippet 1:

Paul Johnson was on “Desert Island Discs” yesterday. He’s an 83-year-old journalist and a fairly opinionated old buffer. Kirsty Young enquired how many words he wrote per day. “At least 1000,” he said. “On a good day, I can manage 5000.”

“I believe that Jean Paul Sartre could write 20,000 words in a day,” observed Ms Young.

“Yes,” agreed Mr Johnston. Pause. Sniff. “Mind you, he was writing in French.”



Snippet 2:

Ulrika Jonsson was on a live programme this morning. She’s a blonde, glamorous, much-married Swedish television person who lives in England.

Someone texted the radio presenter, remembering another interview of Ms J's. She’d been asked whether she knew what existentialism was. She’d said, “No, but I can tell you why not in seven languages.”