Translation: The best performers were the sorts of fuddy-duddy stocks (see table) that most investors assume will be duds and shun.

FORBES: Money & Investing

"Her mum, Nicolette, Marchioness of Londonderry, hired David Hicks to transform this fuddy-duddy estate into an extraordinarily groovy house with an incredible sense of color, " the designer marveled.

WSJ: Kathryn M. Ireland on La Rocca Pisana's Dining Room

In contrast, Apple's ads have neatly-wrapped cutting attacks on Windows Vista in a humorous schtick that depicts the PC user as a fumbling fuddy-duddy and the Mac user as worldy, wise and hip.

FORBES: SiliConsumed

Thinking Kinder was too much of a fuddy-duddy, too wedded to the fading pipeline business and lacking the swashbuckling style needed to run a company so clearly destined to remake the worlds of dealmaking and energy trading, they withheld the top job.

FORBES: Rich Kinder's Energy Kingdom