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QUESTION: When was it that footballers started swapping shirts?
The practice was first recorded on May 14, 1931, when France, the underdogs, thumped England 5-2 at Stade Yves-du-Manoir near Paris.
Les Bleus, jubilant after the win, asked their opponents for their jerseys. The English obliged.
It took a number of years to become a routine. FIFA reports that shirt swapping took place at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland and, by the end of the decade, it had become a formality and the source of some iconic football moments.
The practice became controversial in the 1966 World Cup after an incendiary quarter-final between England and Argentina.
Thanks to Geoff Hurst, England narrowly won 1-0, but the game is remembered for manager Alf Ramsey calling the Argentines ‘animals’ and forcibly preventing George Cohen from swapping shirts with Alberto Gonzalez.
Four years later we were given the iconic shirt swapping image (above): Bobby Moore, England’s victorious captain in 1966, was brilliant in their narrow 0-1 loss to Brazil and was embraced by Pele as they traded shirts after the game.
A. D. Browning, Saltash, Cornwall
Brazil’s Pele (L) and England’s Bobby Moore (R) exchange shirts in a token of mutual respect after the 1966 match
QUESTION: Why do we use the term ‘gala’ to describe some functions?
A gala is a festive occasion or celebration. The word is believed to stem from Old French ‘gale’ meaning ‘merriment’, itself derived from ‘galer’ (‘rejoice, make merry’). Gala originally meant fancy clothing or dress, the assumption being that festive occasions were accompanied by fancy dress and it was first recorded in its current sense in 1777.
Other words have the same root: gallant once meant ‘showy, finely dressed; gay, merry’, though by the 17th century had transitioned to mean courteous.
A less common word is gallimaufry, derived from ‘galer’ and ‘mafrer’ (‘to gorge’).
Originally a French stew made with various meats, it is now most commonly used to refer to a jumble of things.
Sandra Thomas, Leeds
QUESTION: Who is the most prolific poet?
Further to the earlier answer, in terms of number of poems, Danish polymath Piet Hein (1905–1996), might be a candidate. He condensed his feelings into more than 7,000 short poems which he called ‘grooks’ (a nonsense word).
For example: PRESCRIPTION A bit of virtue will never hurt you.
Jonathan Bird, Bristol
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