![appalling old waxworks appalling old waxworks](https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/27/285x214/7874_1.jpg)
Compliment a woman on her jacket, and she's likely to say (with a startled but pleased smile), "What - this old thing? I've had it for ages!" (It's rare but not inconceivable that she might say the same of her spouse). It doesn't necessarily mean ancient or elderly. Thus the state of the motorways, other public services, or even the way pets are treated (and sometimes eaten) in other countries, is simply appalling. Anything that is simply appalling is really not worth consideration. Now, if you think "appalling" isn't already doing the job, then it ought to be preceded by "simply". It goes without saying that the person who uses this word may also use "disgraceful" on occasion. Take the word "appalling": is it not quintessentially English? The mouth opens ever so slightly to say "a", but then gathers momentum with the speed of a racehorse to bite down on the lip for the forceful "palling" in a large "O" of censure. The interest lies purely in the word string itself, whatever its origin. The brouhaha of who said what about whom to whom and if it all is of little consequence to the language lover. It was claimed that the remarks were to be found in his (the Prince's, that is) journal entitled The Handover of Hong Kong, or The Great Chinese Takeaway. The Prince's alleged views on the 1997 handover of Hong Kong to the Chinese were published in the Mail on Sunday merely a few days after a state visit by the Chinese president, Hu Jintao. According to media reports, he apparently described a group of Chinese politicians at a ceremony with the then president, Jiang Zemin, as "appalling old waxworks". I could never have imagined such an exquisite combination of words until I read of the jibe ascribed to the Prince of Wales. There is new vocabulary making the rounds that is tempting to use: "Appalling old waxworks".