Words: tokoloshe, n.

IN THIS age of confessed concupiscence in the Foreign Office and soiled frocks in the Oval Office, it is surprising that no one has blamed the tokoloshe, or even used his name as a term of disapprobation.

A tokoloshe (pronounce with a long e at the end to extend its name to four syllables) is, the dictionary tells us, a mischievous and lascivious hairy dwarf of African mythology. More detailed sources mention that superstitious women raise their beds on bricks to avoid the attentions of its huge penis and insatiable sexual appetite. Recently, the tokoloshe has even been blamed for Aids.

When the next sexual scandal comes, let us not rely on the tired words of ritual denigration of randy wrongdoers. When defensive bed-raising is called for, the word is tokoloshe.