Tag Archives: flâneuse

Mystery solved: words (male and female) for idle, observant walkers

Michael Peter Ancher: “A Stroll on the Beach” / Wikimedia Commons

Back in May, my aunt Sally wrote to me asking if I knew of a specific word that she had come across in her reading but which now escaped her. Here’s how she described her word mystery:

“A short while ago I read the book The Lonely City by Olivia Laing, in which she talks about women walking alone at night, including Greta Garbo.​ ​I’m certain that in the book​,​ or in a​n article​ about it​, there was a word used to describe these women​.​ I know I read it, but ​I ​just can’t find it​.​ Can you help? I’m sure it begins​ ​with F.”

Can you guess what that word is, before you read on? Continue reading