<html> <body> Thank you David.  I am on the verge of adopting this usage.  It will feel like an affectation for a while, but eventually, like the euro-seven (7 with a line through the stem) that I took on as a youth, it will work itself into my DNA.   I just hope it's OK with the fundamentalists. David S At 01:02 PM 5/22/2012, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Yes it does, just about!  But I was quoting a fairly well-known expression in UK English, "To call a spade a ruddy shovel"; to speak robustly to how things are.  A tad more vigorous than calling a spade a spade..... Best, David. <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">David B,  does 'ruddy' represent the frontier of your on-line expletive usage? </blockquote> </blockquote></body> </html>