A reader writes in response to the Reminiscence of the Year in my December Diary:
Mr Derbyshire,
Regarding your “just a little prick” comment:
I am an anesthesiologist. One of the anesthetists I work with, just before placing a spinal needle in a patient’s back, always says to the patient, “You’ll feel a little prick with a needle; it’s just me.” Cracks them up every time.
To lower the tone of The Corner even further, another reader tells me that the correct response to a nurse’s saying “Just a little prick” is: “Yeah, but I have a nice smile.”