Second Mentions

"Scotland's other national drink"

Raccoons have easy access to food in the form of human trash. It could be jump-starting physical and behavioral changes in the masked bandits, new research suggests. https://cnn.it/4ac7cUq

"the masked bandits"

@secondmentions.bsky.social

Superb! 👏🏻👏🏻

That last sentence is definitely worthy of notifying @secondmentions.bsky.social

And just like that, Cosmopolitan cocktail has a comeback Sales of the iconic pink drink — synonymous with Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City — are up, reflecting a nostalgic yearning for simpler times

Cosmopolitan cocktail: "the iconic pink drink"

www.thetimes.com/article/e15f...

"the coffee-soaked dessert"

"Donovan's follow up single was not a success"

"subway stowaway"

Also 'the rubbish raiders'

Cuter and closer: Raccoons may be on their way to becoming America's next pet The rubbish raiders are showing reductions in snout length, a sign of early domestication, researchers say.

"the masked mammals"

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

"The unusually wind-powered and cycle-friendly Nordic nation" is a particularly long, um, winded @secondmentions.bsky.social. 🇩🇰

Superb

Study: Kids’ drip paintings more like Pollock’s than those of adults The splatter master was more clumsy than graceful in his movements, which are key to his distinctive style.

Pollock the splatter master @secondmentions.bsky.social

arstechnica.com/science/2025...

Buckingham Palace Christmas market: why tourists flocked there – and found just locked gates and big puddles The hot spot seemed the perfect place for Yuletide-loving royalists. But, as with the Eiffel Tower in Beijing and some of the most picturesque windmills in the Netherlands, there was much less to it t...

No. There is no Buckingham Palace Christmas market. Some of you have been conned by AI.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Nice bit of @secondmentions.bsky.social action in there too.

The fermented beverage packed with antioxidants that’s a gut-regulating powerhouse

The fermented beverage packed with antioxidants that’s a gut-regulating powerhouse

@secondmentions.bsky.social the whole headline is a second mention, although is it still a second mention when it’s the first mention?

@secondmentions.bsky.social 'the polarizing spread'

Superb second mention for tomatoes in the FT today
@secondmentions.bsky.social

@secondmentions.bsky.social

Picture of a woman preparing an octopus kebab. Headline reads: The octopus kebab - Camden's fishy twist on the post-pub classic

Kebab: "the post-pub classic" www.thetimes.com/article/6725...

Anyone god anything better than ‘the viral monster toys?’ Surely there’s something out there

@secondmentions.bsky.social from today's Graun - Frankie the flamingo - "audacious phoenicopter"

always love it when I learn new words - introducing Frankie ‘the audacious phoenicopter.’ (Phoenicopterus is a genus of birds in the flamingo family Phoenicopteridae)

Should be a good episode but also a good @secondmentions.bsky.social for worm

“The hardy seasonal chestnut”

Tune in our show this weekend for a first mention of Second Mentions! 😉

'The Little Book of Second Mentions' is available to buy now

👉 Amazon: amzn.eu/d/9A6XesG

👉 Waterstones: www.waterstones.com/book/the-lit...

👉 Biteback Publishing: www.bitebackpublishing.com/books/the-li...

Once you've selected a synonym for Christmas itself, the festive/yuletide/seasonal/Mariah Carey time provides a veritable feast of second mentions, starting with the big man himself. Father Christmas, or Santa Claus if you prefer, is variously referred to as 'the bearded present-bearer' for PA News, 'the man in red' for the Halifax Courier, and 'the red-robed friendly present giver' for Reading Today. Another perhaps slightly euphemistic example is 'the broad-girthed giver of joy' for BBC News, though that interpretation might just be us... We reckon we might end up on the naughty list for that one.

🎁 Looking for the perfect Secret Santa present? 🎁

🧑‍🎄 In honour of Father Christmas, here are our favourite second mentions for the big man 🧑‍🎄

👉 All this and more in 'The Little Book of Second Mentions', out now