Out wi’ t’hound on t’heath again, I passed a couple of friends who were discussing work-related matters at the kind of volumes popular among young North London go-getters. I found myself flinching as one declared indignantly that she had ‘transitioned the workload effectively.’

“That’s just not right, is it?” I said to the dog. “‘Transition’ is not a verb. Is it?” She nodded sagely, and we continued on our way, shaken but not stirred.

On getting home, I checked. Maybe language had once again changed while I was out. And there it was:

“verb NORTH AMERICAN”

And increasingly, it would appear, NORTH LONDON.