Mumbo jumbo
The Prime Minister called opposition to imports of US-produced food ‘mumbo jumbo’. The expression was introduced to the English language in 1795 by Mungo Park in his Travels in the Interior of Africa. It was his way of writing down ‘Maamajomboo’ — the name used by the Mandinka people of West Africa for a pagan god, played by a male dancer, who was sent to intercede in disputes between the multiple wives of local men. Mumbo Jumbo would decide which woman was guilty, then strip her naked and scourge her with a rod. It is a wonder that Boris’s enemies haven’t seized upon his use of the expression as yet one more example of politically incorrect language.
Health check
Deaths from coronavirus reached the 490 mark. How does this outbreak compare with other diseases?
— Avian flu: between 2003 and 2020, the World Health Organization reported that the H5N1 strain of flu had killed 455.
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