Fish finger or cod digit? New book celebrates art of the second mention

What would you do with "cod digits"? Can you identify a "monochrome mammal"? And what on earth is an "unfortunate ungulate"?

- Michael Savage

They are all attempts by journalists - either elegant or absurd, depending on your outlook - to avoid repeating a noun already featured in an article. In the cases above, they are genuine journalistic attempts to describe fish fingers, a panda and a sheep stuck in a car.

Spotting eye-catching "second mentions" has become a hobby for Juliet and Matthew Maguire. The couple began collecting examples after Juliet encountered them during her journalism training.

Their interest grew into a social media account, which became a lively exchange for the distinctive descriptors.

They have now compiled their favourite examples in The Little Book of Second Mentions, which examines their history, structure and mixed reputation.

"It turned out there are a lot of like-minded people who also enjoy seeing them," said Juliet. "Sometimes journalists get in touch and say: 'I'm writing a story about penguins and I can't think of a second mention. Can anybody help?' We get requests."

The married monographers say the art can arguably be traced back to Homer, who specialised in giving new names to his characters. Thus, Odysseus became "the great tactician" and Athena "the bright-eyed goddess".

Whether or not reporters ever actually draw on the