Peter, you’re absolutely right about President Reagan’s use of “keister”. One of the all-time great moments of the Reagan era was a press conference with European journalists when he announced that it was time for Colonel Gaddafy (then at his terrorizing peak) to “straighten up and fly right”. Slapping down your enemies in retro American vernacular: that’s the way to do it.

Don’t think the Continentals appreciated it, alas.