>>>
>> I know "torch" means "flashlight" over in Britain.
>> But for a moment, I
>> had this ghastly image of women examining themselves
>> with welders'
>> oxycetylene torches going full blast.
>
>
> And "fag" means cigarette, and "faggot" means wood or
> charcoal for grilling. (the American "faggot" comes
> from this, via "flaming.")
Julian Stallabrass's excellent book on recent British art ("High Art Lite", Verso) wasn't edited for the US release of the book, so some readers may have been surprised to find on p.20 a reference to a photo of trendy artist Damien Hirst described as "an iconic image of the artist with shaven head sucking on a fag."
C.