Final Word from Monday, January 21, 2008
Prague is a village, and if you're a frequent visitor to one of its main promenades, you have a good chance of running into the occasional celebrity. They usually have big men packing guns watching over them. If you happen to be walking down D**** St. at the right hour, you might see two dark sedans come screeching around the corner, block the path of any would-be assassins, and deposit PM Mirek Topolánek on his doorstep. But if you take your stroll on Fri. or Sun. afternoon, you might also see the same PM pushing a baby carriage through the same streets, with no bodyguards in sight. It's great news if Prague is now so safe that the PM can perambulate and window-shop alone with his baby just meters from where a hand grenade went off three years ago. Surely it must mean his gun-toting gorillas can be assigned more-dangerous work, such as helping little old ladies cross the street.[Czech Republic prime minister]
Glossary of difficult words
to perambulate - (formal) to walk about for pleasure in a leisurely way;
promenade - a paved public walkway;
to pack a gun - to carry, tote a gun;
D**** St. - although it has been all over the tabloids, we don't want to reveal the location of the PM's residence;
would-be - desiring or aspiring to be something;
to screech around the corner - to speed around the corner while emitting loud sounds from the tires or brakes;
to deposit - to put or set something down in a specific place;
to window-shop - to look at goods displayed in shop windows, esp. without intending to buy anything;
gorilla - a heavily built, aggressive-looking man.