Journalist and occasional Wordcrafter Quentin Letts is reissuing the paperback version of his 2008 book 50 People Who Buggered Up Britain with a five additions, "Now with added bankers". Presumably "55 People ..." isn't as catchy a title, or else Quentin can't count.

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or else Quentin can't count.

Perhaps he's also an accountant.

Dear Arnie,
1. You are right. I am not good at maths. I once managed to score 4% in an exam. That is, I think it was 4%...
2. If we had renamed it "55 People Who Buggered Up Britain" the publisher would have had to give me a new contract. And you know how generous publishers are.

I always thought "buggered" was not considered a word used in public in Britain. Has that attitude changed or am I misinformed?

In some sectors of society the act, if not the word, is almost obligatory it seems to me.

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Originally posted by Proofreader:
I always thought "buggered" was not considered a word used in public in Britain. Has that attitude changed or am I misinformed?

You're misinformed. "It's buggered" would be a relatively mild expletive for "it's broken". The connection with the verb is almost never intended or made.

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You're misinformed.

Well, I'll be buggered.

Thanks, Quentin, for weighing in on this.