I’ve just read an article about Helen Mirren. In it we find that she hates the word ‘feisty’ and was particularly annoyed when she was described as such.

I don’t mind ‘feisty’ – it’s never been a word I’ve thought much about. The word I have taken a great dislike to is ‘spritely’, which is how my gardener described me a couple of weeks or so ago. Until that moment I had no opinion about the word but when Graham described me as ‘spritely’, I found myself hating the word with a passion!

It’s funny how seemingly ordinary words can affect you. When I was young (19 or 20), my boyfriend used to address me in letters as ‘Dear Smell’. I assumed then that it was a term of endearment. I think if someone addressed me with that now, I would be greatly offended!

‘Elderly primagravida’ – this describes a woman who is pregnant for the first time at age 35 or after or whose previous pregnancy was in her early 20’s. I suppose if it’s a ‘medical term’, it would be silly to take offence but when it’s applied to you and you are a young 38, you don’t go home and boast about it! Apparently, now women who are over 35 and pregnant can also be described as having a ‘geriatric pregnancy’!

We all have talked about ‘sweet old ladies’, I imagine. I guess there are some in the world, but I agree with Helen Mirren about the word ‘sweet’ being used to describe an attractive couple walking along holding hands. Babies are sometimes ‘sweet; sleeping toddlers might be ‘sweet’; an 8 year old girl may look ‘sweet’ and I may once have thought the word was a compliment when applied to me, but after 10 or 11, girls are highly unlikely to be ‘sweet’. I know I haven’t been sweet since I was a child (if I was!) even if my name is (literally!)

(The article was in The Times on 22 August, 2025 and written by Dominic Maxwell)