----------------- HES POSTING ----------------- Of course it wouldn't be "far-fetched"! That's exactly what Keynes was doing. Though it was not so much a "literary expression" as a euphemism used by governesses and nursery maids to describe the unruly behaviour of their little charges. I am glad Visser has brought some common sense to an absurd discussion. It is impossible to read the (English) literature of economics knowledgeably without a sensitive awareness of the nuances of English language and idiom. Anglophone historians of economic thought need to take a lesson from their Dutch colleagues. Before we learn anything else, we ought to learn English. Anthony Waterman ------------ FOOTER TO HES POSTING ------------ For information, send the message "info HES" to [log in to unmask]