Dot Wordsworth

The weird truth about the word ‘normal’

Praise, insult, sexual euphemism – what an extraordinary range of meaning

issue 10 October 2015

‘Is Nicky Morgan too “normal” to be the next prime minister?’ asked someone in the Daily Telegraph. That would make her abnormally normal, I suppose, at least for a PM. ‘Who and what dictates what is normal?’ asked Justine Greening, the International Development Secretary, earlier this year, but, like jesting Pilate, did not stay for an answer.

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