Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Vacillate

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Vacillate: verb - sway or swing unsteadily; in unstable equilibrium, oscillate, stagger, vary, fluctuate; waver between different opinions, options, actions; indecisive.

'There is a perception, amongst those of a fixed political view, that the Liberal Democrats vacillate on most points of policy; this is false, of course, as they merely tend to take the middle path, rather than either of the offered extremes in most things.'

25 October 1961 Private Eye was published for the first time. I doubt Ian Hislop, the current editor, was even around at that time. It’s been responsible for deflating many a political and celebrity ego along the way. Long may it continue to do so.

Stuart's Daily Word Spot: Whether or if?

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Whether or if?

These two conjunctions are more or less interchangeable. However, 'whether' is generally used in more formal writing. And 'if' gives a better idea that possibility or probability is involved with the alternatives on offer.

So:

'Whether you vote Labour or Conservative will make no difference to your life: both parties will screw you unless you're part of the club.'

'If you vote Labour, you can feel that you've tried to be socially responsible, but if you vote Conservative, you'll have to accept you've displayed no social conscience. Of course, the reality is that neither vote will improve matters for you, unless you belong to the small group making the decisions.'