Arguido • in Portuguese law, someone who has not been arrested or charged but is treated by police as a formal suspect. Arguidos have additional legal rights, including the right to legal representation and the right to remain silent. (Female suspects are arguida.)

Tapas Nine • media nickname for the group, including Gerry and Kate McCann, that were eating supper when Madeleine reportedly went missing.

Shambo • a ‘sacred’ bull that was put down after testing positive for bovine TB – causing controversy between Hindus and health officials in Wales.

Pitch Beast • animals used in advertising: usually cute, for example penguins.

Blarney Army • Irish cricket fans.

Ghost Flights • empty aircraft flown only to keep key airport ‘runway slots’.

Slurb • suburban area with poor housing (a mixture of slum and suburb).

Multimedia Manifesto • package of text, photos and video mailed to NBC News by Seung-Hui Cho in the middle of his April massacre at Virginia Tech.

Chatty Packaging • Amelia Torode’s term for faux-friendly marketing blurb that aspires to a casual, cheeky and personal tone.

Extracted and adapted from Schott’s Almanac 2008: conceived, written & designed by Ben Schott published by Bloomsbury on December 1. RRP £16.99, available from Times BooksFirst for £15.29, free p&p. 0870 1608080

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