Word of the Day

flat
(flt)

n.

1. An apartment on one floor of a building.

2. Archaic A story in a house.

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[Alteration of Scots flet, inner part of a house, from Middle English, from Old English, floor, dwelling]

Use: Staff Nurse Clarissa Darling Thomley has just turned down Houseman Tom Greenley's offer to use a friend's flat for tea while he is away. In retaliation, he marches her through the British Museum without so much as beans on toast.

In America we call them apartments and flats are what Nicole Kidman (5 feet, 10 1/2 inches) was consigned to wear after signing up to marry Tom Cruise (whose height according to infallible Google is anywhere between 5' 6" and 5' 9"). There's a gorgeous woman who I go to church with who is just slightly taller than her quite tall husband. Every time she wears flats I want to swap them out with a pair of righteous heels. Girlfriend is an Olivia trying to fit into an Araminta world. Slip into some killer wedges and go fly your flag.

Still, the word 'flat' does have a way of evoking the soullessness of no-green-space-apartment-living...