4 NOVEMBER 1989, Page 22

A DICTIONARY OF CANT

FAILURE OF COMMUNICATION. When committees are set up after disas- ters and fiascos for the non apportioning of blame, failure of com- munication is a device, like a spatula, for spreading blame so thinly that no- body seems to get any at all.

ADVISORY. The self-description of all panels, committees and caucuses con- cerned with consciousness-raising, edu- cating the public, and truth- management in general. Fifty years ago, Lord Haw-Haw broadcast to the British public in an advisory role.

NATIONAL SECURITY. The extent to which this term is contaminated with cant cannot be disclosed for reasons of national security.

Nigel Burke