Did you hear the one about...

Reptile readers with a good memory might remember me explaining the origins of the Irish Taoiseach’s nickname of Biffo Cowen.  It would be unkind of me to rub this in too much, but…

Irish Prime Minister Brian Cowen was just a few paragraphs into an address at a St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House when he realized something sounded way too familiar. Turns out, he was repeating the speech President Barack Obama had just given.

Don'tcha hate it when that happens?

Biffo Cowen

Talking about the Lisbon Treaty reminds me of the unfortunate new Irish Taoiseach, Brian Cowen. A pretty uninspiring man in most ways, he does, however, have the finest nickname of any serving head of state. He's known as Biffo Cowen - a name that has a certain something in and of itself. But it's when you find out what Biffo stands for that it's true genius becomes apparent.

Because the most exalted Irishman today has a nickname that stands for Big Ignorant Fucker From Offaly. Superb.