But normally it means delivering a huge wodge of cash by sea to the hijackers, who will have anchored off the coast of northern Somalia.

BBC: Ransom drop-off

Spain, Poland and a wodge of small central and east European countries did support America and Britain, sending troops to help them keep peace in Iraq.

ECONOMIST: Ever more doubters | The

Their wodge of bad loans has fallen, not least because a healthier economy means that new ones are not piling up as fast as existing ones are written down.

ECONOMIST: Buttonwood: Eastward ho! | The

Filmed records of Ms Horn's 1970s performances include, for instance, images of a hand probing a vagina-shaped double column of black feathers and of the artist trying to kiss a man with a wodge of similar black feathers attached to her face.

ECONOMIST: Rebecca Horn