Mind your language
The Northern Ireland Secretary, Sir Patrick Mayhew, was saying on the wire- less the other day how pleased he was that we were now following a 'twin- track' approach. I couldn't immediately remember what these tracks might be. The IRA, of course, had their own terri- ble twins: the ballot and the bullet.
The Oxford English Dictionary notes the word in passing, but only in its liter- al sense, along with twin-bedded, twin- double (of horse racing), twin-set, twin-tub (of washing machines) and twin paradox (In relativity theory, the conclusion that if one of a pair of twins makes a long journey at high speed and then returns, he will have aged less than the twin who remains behind' — though I can't say I was ever convinced by that.) Twin is a good Old English word (in about the year 1000 an unknown monk glossed gemina as twinnum). Track is probably a Teutonic word in origin too, related to the Dutch trek. In any case in combination they currently appeal greatly to politicians. I suppose it's bet- ter than a 'dual carriageway' approach.
Dot Wordsworth
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