Flare & Flair

Flair (pronounced flair)

(1) A natural or innate talent, aptitude, or ability, a bent or knack for something; instinctive discernment or perceptiveness.

(2) Smartness of style, manner, etc; stylishness or elegance.

(3) In hunting, scent; olfaction, the sense of smell (now rare).

(4) In Scots, a word for floor.

1350–1400: From the Middle English flayre, from the Old English flōr, from the Old French flaire (scent; odour (literally “sense of smell”) which endures in Modern French as flarier), a noun derivative of flairier (to reek; to give off a smell), ultimately from unattested Vulgar Latin flāgrāre, a dissimilated variant of the Classical Latin frāgrāre (to smell sweet), source also of fragrant in Modern English).  The related Latin form was flāgrō, a dissimilated variation of the verb frāgrō (emit a sweet smell).  In modern use, the original sense (scent, sense of smell etc) is rare and restricted to niches such as hunting and historical fiction.  The sense of "special aptitude" is an invention of American English, dating from 1925, probably from hunting and the notion of a hound's innate and extraordinary ability to track scent.  Flair is a noun & verb, flairing & flaired are verbs and flairish & flairless are adjectives; the noun plural is flairs.  

The popular uses now refer to (1) matters of style or (2) a particular talent or aptitude: “He has a flair for the business”.  That was Winston Churchill's (1875-1965; UK prime-minister 1940-1945 & 1951-1955) grudging assessment in 1944 of Field Marshal Sir Alan Brooke (later Lord Alanbrooke; 1883-1963, Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS) 1941-1946) as a general.  It was about as close to praise as the CIGS received from his chief; the prime-minister liked his soldiers dashing and daring rather than cautious and conscientious.  The most common synonyms now (depending on context) include chic, dash, élan, grace, verve, oomph, ability, aptitude, elegance, genius, gift, glamour, knack, mastery, taste, bent, faculty, feeling, head, panache & pizzazz.

Flares worn with flair: Lindsay Lohan (left) in peach colored flared trousers with lampasse (the "general staff" side-stripe), Los Angeles, 2012 and (right) out shopping in flared jeans, Milan, 2015.

Flare (pronounced flair)

(1) To burn with an unsteady, swaying flame, as a torch or candle in the wind; the flame of this type.

(2) To blaze with a sudden burst of flame (often followed by up); the flame of this type.

(3) To start up or burst out in sudden, fierce intensity or activity (often followed by up).

(4) To become suddenly enraged; express sudden, fierce anger or passion (usually followed by up or out).

(5) To shine or glow.

(6) To spread gradually outward, as the end of a trumpet, the bottom of a wide skirt, or the sides of a ship.

(7) To display conspicuously or ostentatiously to display.

(8) To signal by flares of fire or light.

(9) To cause (something) to spread gradually outward in form.

(10) In metallurgy, to heat a high-zinc brass to such a high temperature that the zinc vapors begin to burn; to increase the temperature of (a molten metal or alloy) until a gaseous constituent of the melt burns with a characteristic flame or (of a molten metal or alloy) to show such a flame.

(11) In hydrocarbon extraction, to discharge and burn (excess gas) at a well or refinery.

(12) A bright blaze of fire or light used as a signal, a means of illumination or guidance etc; the device or substance used to produce such a blaze of fire or light.

(13) In fashion, a gradual spread outward in form; as in a skirt or trousers (known also as bell-bottoms).

(14) In engineering, an outward extension, usually as a curvature.

(15) In automotive design, an extension at the wheel arch of the fender (mudguard) to ensure tyres don’t extend beyond the bodywork.

(16) Something that spreads out.

(17) In optics, light, often unwanted or extraneous, reaching the image plane of an optical instrument, as a camera, resulting from reflections, scattering by lenses, and the like.

(18) In photography, a fogged appearance given to an image by reflection within a camera lens or within the camera itself.

(19) In astronomy (commonly as solar flare), a sudden and brief brightening of the solar atmosphere in the vicinity of a sunspot that results from an explosive release of particles and radiation.

(20) In US football (NFL), a short pass thrown to a back who is running toward a sideline and is not beyond the line of scrimmage.

(21) In television, a dark area on a CRT picture tube caused by variations in light intensity (mostly archaic).

(22) In aviation, the final transition phase of an aircraft landing, from the steady descent path to touchdown; to operate an aircraft to transition from downward flight to level flight just before landing.

(23) In pathology, an area of redness on the skin surrounding the primary site of infection or irritation.

(24) In engineering, as flare tube fitting, a flare nut being used to secure the flared tubing’s tapered end to the also tapered fitting, producing a pressure-resistant, leak-tight seal.

(25) In baseball (also as blooper or Texas leaguer), a low-fly ball that is hit in the region between the infielders and the outfielders.

(26) An inflammation such as of tendons (tendonitis) or joints (osteoarthritis).

(27) In pyrotechnics (also as Bengal light or fusee) a colored flare used as a warning on a railroad.  In US use, a parachute flare or Very light.

1540-1550: Of uncertain origin, the verb not appearing in English until the mid-sixteenth century, most etymologists thinking it probably related to the Latin flagrō (I burn) and may be from a Scandinavian source or the Dutch vlederen.  The Norwegian flara (to blaze; to flaunt in gaudy attire) has a similar meaning, but the English word predates it so it’s presumed derivative.  There may be some relationship with the Middle High German vlederen (to flutter (and represented in modern German by flattern)) but the evidence is scant.  In English, the original meaning was “spread out” (as applied to hair (and later structures such as the sides of ships)) leading to a comparison with the Old English flǣre (either of the spreading sides at the end of the nose).  The meaning "shine out with a sudden light" dates from the 1630s while the notion of "spreading out in display" emerged in the 1640s and is the source of the modern association with things which "spread gradually outward".

The hauntingly lovely Brigitte Bardot (1934-2025), Paris, France, 1961.  The car from which she's alighting is a Simca Chambord (1958-1961), powered by a French-built version of the old US Ford Flathead V8-60 with the displacement increased from 2.2 litres (136 cubic inch) to 2.4 (144) and rated at 84 HP (horsepower).  It was an example of the Europeans untypically getting a larger version of something than US buyers.

Mademoiselle Bardot is wearing what the industry called a “fit-and-flare dress”, the first element an allusion to the closely-fitted “shirtwaist”, the latter referencing the exaggerated lairing of the skirt.  The garments were produced as dresses but the same look could be achieved on a mix & match basis with a top/skirt combo.  Either way, the defining features were (1) a fitted bodice (often structured or darted), (2) a nipped-in waist, a voluminous skirt (often with a lightweight internal structure or a similarly supportive petticoat and (3) a knee-length hemline.  Although there were many interpretations, on catwalks or in catalogues, the fashion houses presented them usually with short sleeves and vertical stripes were popular, a trick use to create a visual perception of height, counter-balancing the sheer width created by the flaring.  Even more than most styles, the “fit-and-flare” look really worked well only on the slender and preferably tall.  Historians of fashion regard “fit-and-flare dress” as a continuation of the silhouette defined by the “New Look–influenced day dress” associated with Christian Dior’s (1905–1957) late-1940s collections.

Brigitte Bardot posing with her 1954 Simca Type 9 Weekend Cabriolet at the family home, Louveciennes, France, 1955.  Whatever she wore, she wore with flair.

Mademoiselle Bardot for some years (apparently contentedly) drove a 1954 Simca Type 9 Weekend Cabriolet which was a fully-finished, pre-production prototype.  The factory provided her with the car to generate publicity and in what was apparently a rather loose contra-arrangement, she did some promotional work for Simca (such as being photographed adoring their cars) and after some six years in her hands, the car was passed (either sold or gifted, both tales appear) to her friend and neighbour, the French sculptor César Baldaccini (1921–1998).  The cabriolet still exists and is on permanent display at the Lane Motor Museum in Nashville, Tennessee.

1968 Porsche 911S (left), 1978 Porsche 911 Turbo (930, centre), the flared wheel arches meaning the style came to be called the “wide-body”, a term later applied to machines in this style from other manufacturers and a modified 1979 Porsche 930 (right) with the even wider flares often seen on such cars.

The noun flare (a giving off of a bright, unsteady light) dates from 1814 and was derived from the verb; from this followed (by 1883) the sense of "signal fire" (1883). Astronomical use dates from 1937.  The general meaning "a gradual widening or spreading" is emerged circa 1910, the best known modern example probably the “flares” (flared trousers), first noted in 1964, actually an adaptation of earlier forms of design but a fashion trend which is associated with the hippie era and lasting until the mid 1970s.  Flares then became suddenly unfashionable but revivals since have been frequent and they now enjoy a standardized niche in the industry.  In idiomatic use, the flare-up (a sudden burst) applied by 1827 to an argument and by 1858 to light, derived from the verbal phrase and contemporary publications noted the vogue flare-up enjoyed as a street expression in 1830s London.  The 1660s noun flatus (wind in the bowels) was a direct borrowing from the Latin flatus (a blowing, breathing, snorting; a breaking wind), past participle of flare (to blow, puff) from the primitive Indo-European root bhle- (to blow).  From this came the 1590s adjective flatulent (affected by digestive gas), from the sixteenth century French flatulent, from the Modern Latin flatulentus, from Latin flatus.  Synonyms, depending on context, include flame, erupt, explode, flash, blaze, blaze, boil over, break out, burn, explode, flare up, flash, flicker, glow, seethe, widen, burst, dart, dazzle, flutter, fume, glare, rant, shimmer & broaden.  Flare is a noun & verb, flared is a verb & adjective and flaring is a verb; the noun plural is flares.

1963 AC Shelby Cobra 289 (left) and 1967 AC Shelby Cobra 427 S/C (right) with flared wheel arches.  Aspects of the bulge-bodied 427 had actually already been seen on competition versions of the 289 and it has for decades been the most popular style of body (regardless of the engine installed) used by producers of replicas, there now being in excess of 50,000 of these, dwarfing the production of the thousand-odd originals.  One way to upset the Cobra purists is to refer to genuine Shelby American AC Cobras in the original body-style (1963-1965) as the "slab-side", a term created to distinguish between the two designs used by the replica Cobra ecosystem.

1974 Holden LH Torana SL/R 5000 L34.

For many years, most cars have used slightly flared wheel arches but more exaggerated extensions often are added to high-performance models to enable wider wheels and tyres to be fitted.  If the high-performance version is to be a regular-production model, the usual practice is the integrate the flares into the fender.  Limited production models however often have flares added which are obviously “tacked-on” and that can be part of the attraction, giving the things the appearance of something obviously intended for competition, emphasizing too their “limited production” status.  Holden's Torana L34 (1974) & A9X (1977) were produced to homologate various pieces of equipment for competition including the fibreglass flares and part of their brutish appeal lies in them being so clearly "tacked on", the securing bolts attaching them to the fenders left exposed, thus generating an alluring "race car" vibe.

2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Demon 170 Jailbreak in Panther Pink with two-piece "underwires".

Some versions of the Dodge Challenger (2008-2023 and a revival of the style of the 1970-1974 (E-body) range) were fitted with wheel-arch flares and whether a pair appeared only at the rear or at all four corners depended on specification, the former optimized for straight-line performance (ie drag-racing), the latter as all-purpose, high performance variants.

The “Panther Pink” Challenger was one of a small build in the "Demon 170 Jailbreak program" which included 40 exclusive paint colors, access to these by manufacturer’s invitation only.  The option was documented as providing a “one of one” finish (a US$29,995 option) and the color range included a number of the “heritage shades” on the charts for the 1970 Challenger which in many ways was the season of "peak craziness".  Only one was finished in Panther Pink (M3) and its unique “one-of-one” status saw it in February, 2025 realize US$450,000 when auctioned on Bring-a-Trailer, an impressive capital gain against the original invoiced cost of US$195,946, the option a good investment.  The 1970 color chart is remembered not only for the lurid hues which grabbed the psychedelic moment of the era but also the imaginative names which included Plum Crazy, In-Violet, Tor Red, Sub Lime, Sassy Grass, Panther Pink, Moulin Rouge, Top Banana, Lemon Twist & Citron Yella.  Although it may be an industry myth, the story told is that Plum Crazy & In-Violet (shades of purple) were late additions because the killjoy board refused to sign-off on Statutory Grape.  That all this weirdness happened during the administration of Richard Nixon (1913-1994; US president 1969-1974) & Spiro Agnew (1918–1996; US vice president 1969-1973) is one of the footnotes in cultural history.

2023 Dodge Challenger SRT Super Stock in White Knuckle with satin black accents over black Laguna leather.

Unexpectedly, during the 2010s, "underwire" entered the lexicon of automotive slang when it was used to describe a plastic part fitted temporarily as a protective piece.  The yellow plastic fitting (pictured above on the leading edge of the Challenger's splitter) was called a "splitter guard" which was unimaginative but the factory didn't envisage them as consumer items and the term was merely explanatory for the information of those preparing cars for sale.  Installed to prevent damage during shipping, it was part of dealer preparation instructions to remove the pieces but leaving them attached became a cult and some cars were even retro-fitted.  Dealers cautioned against the trend, noting the pieces weren't specifically molded to ensure a perfect fit so dirt and moisture were prone to being trapped in the gaps and this could scuff the paint.  They were known also as "damage guards" and "scuff guards" but more imaginative souls dubbed them the "underwire" while serious students of such things suggested a better simile might have been "pastie", while acknowledging Chrysler followed the lead of the underwear manufacturers in having available both single and two-piece "underwires" although this was coincidental and deterministic, dictated by the splitter design.  Women have been known to remove from bras especially intrusive underwires (a "comfort thing") but whether on splitters they were kept or discarded might have seemed an improbable subject for dispute but with cars, men always find a reason to argue about something.  Although probably it would have preferred to discuss horsepower, superchargers and such, Chrysler noted the cultural phenomenon and, while obviously reluctant to upset either faction, did issue a statement to a magazine which had requested comment:

"The splitter guards on Dodge Charger and Challenger have taken on a life of their own. They originally made their debut in the 2015 model year to protect the performance fascias on SRT models during shipment from the manufacturing facility to the dealer, and, yes, they are designed to be removed before delivery.  But today, they have their own Facebook page, and many of our performance enthusiasts have active debates on whether to keep or remove them. Some owners say they are even selling them in the aftermarket.  Obviously, they weren't part of the original design, so we started with yellow guards and shifted to pink, but they are still so popular that we may shift them yet again to black. Wherever we land, this is another example of how our customers are passionate about every part of their Dodge muscle cars."

Peter Brock, Austin A30-Holden with "square flares", Hume Weir, 1969.

In Australia, what became the “sports sedans” began in the mid-1960s as a distinctly amateur form of racing called “Sports Racing Closed” which was closer to Formula Libre than any of the rule-bound categories in the mainstream.  What rules there were initially demanded little more than the use of some sort of saloon car (loosely interpreted) with certain safety fittings such as a roll-cage but beyond that builders were limited only by their budget and imagination.  As a non-professional, semi-official category, budgets tended to be tight but deeply imaginations (along with wrecking yards) were mined to compensate and Peter Brock’s (1945-2006) Austin A30 (1951-1956) was illustrative of the approach taken by many, the body shell coming from one wrecking yard while the 179 cubic inch (2.9 litre) straight-six came from a written-off Holden HD (1965-1966 and the “highly dangerous” in the local slang) in another.  The theory was to find the smallest and lightest car and install the biggest, most powerful engine one could afford and Brock’s A30 was thus transformed from a small, economy car (one originally fitted with a 803 cm³ (49 cubic inch) engine) from the 1950s into a genuinely fast (if somewhat unstable) race car.  Under the skin was a frame constructed from the square-section tubing of a Triumph Herald (another find at a wrecker) and because, in a quest for stability, the front and rear tracks significantly were widened, the protruding tyres had to be covered and that was done in the most simple way known: square flares, fibre glass extensions extending at right angles from the sides, neatly integrated in this case with the front spoiler.  Very powerful and on a short wheelbase, stability was never more than marginal but Brock won over a hundred races with the thing before going on to bigger and better things.  The racing establishment looked (down) upon the Sports Racing Closed category disapprovingly and would liked it to have gone away but, fast and loud, the crowds loved it so race organizers were anxious to invite the little hot rods to compete, knowing they’d draw a large (paying) audience.  By 1969, things had developed to the point where rather than just stage stand-alone races, what was planned was the “Australian Sports Sedan Championship” but CAMS (the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport, then the sport’s national regulatory body) refused to grant these upstarts the dignity of a “championship” and would concede only that they may contest a “trophy”.  The dam had however been breached and from that beginning, the sports sedans entered the mainstream, becoming one of the most popular categories of the 1970s.

Harry Lefoe in Hillman Imp-Ford.  Still with small square flares, trying to find traction, Oran Park 1970 (left), be-winged in an attempt to stay on the track, Hume Weir, 1971 (centre) and in final (wing plucked and flares added) form, Hume Weir 1974 (right).

That drew in television coverage, sponsorship and the involvement of factories, a new professionalism which doomed the era of hybrid machines built with parts salvaged from wrecking yards.  In the last days of amateurism however there were still a few old-school machines fielded and there was one even wilder than Brock’s A30.  The Hillman Imp's (1963-1976) light weight and diminutive dimensions held great appeal for Australian earth-moving contractor Harry Lefoe (1936-2000) who had a spare 302 cubic inch (4.9 litre) Ford (Windsor) V8 sitting in his workshop.  By 1969 the Imp was a Chrysler product and the recently formed Australian Sports Sedan Association (ASSA) had published guidelines which included restricting engines to those from cars built by the manufacturer of the body-shell but because the Windsor V8 had earlier been used in the Sunbeam (a corporate companion to Hillman) Tiger (1964-1967) the mix qualified.  So the big lump of an iron V8 replaced the Imp's 875 cm3 (53 cubic inch) aluminium four and such was the difference in size that Lefoe insisted his Imp had become "mid-engined" although it seems not to have imparted the handling characteristics associated with the configuration, the stubby hybrid infamous for its tendency to travel sideways.  It was never especially successful but even more than most at the time it was loud, fast, spectacular and always a crowd favourite.  Again the prodigious power and short wheelbase made the thing “twitchy” and in an attempt to improve traction and keep the rear wheels in contact with the road Lefoe fitted an elevated wing in the style which had been briefly popular in Formula One and the Can Am until being banned following a number of accidents caused by component failure.  In Australia a similar ban was soon imposed so Lefoe’s only obvious path to grip was to fit wider tyres which necessitated the fashioning of enveloping flares.  The approach brought some success but it was the end of an era as the fields increasingly were filled by highly developed (and expensive) machines, created often with factory support and the use of chassis not far removed from open-wheel racing cars.  Lefoe’s Imp was most influential because the car which in the mid 1970s was the dominant sports sedan was a (much modified) Chevrolet Corvair, another rear-engine machine transformed into something mid-engined.  So dominant was it the rules were changed limiting how far an engine could be moved from the original location.

1974 Ford Cologne Capri.  Factories with bigger budgets used wind-tunnels (these days computer modelling handles much of this) to optimize the shape of flares, often using them to direct airflow to radiators or brakes as well as permit the fitment of wider tyres.  Even in the early 1970s the flares were being shaped to contribute to downforce as well as provide the mandated coverage of the tyres.

1987 Mercedes-Benz 300 E (left) and 1991 Mercedes-Benz 500 E; note the modest flared wheel arches on the 500E which added about two inches to the width of the car, something which proved surprisingly significant.

In 1991, Mercedes-Benz finally gave the W124 (1984-1995 (body-styles other than the four-door sedan would remain in production until 1997 and 46 500 Es were actually built in 1990)) an engine with the power to exploit the fine underpinnings.  The 500 E (later E 500 when the naming system was updated) was a response to demand from those who hankered after something like the old 300 SEL 6.3 (W109 1968-1972) as well as a long-overdue model to compete with BMW’s M5 but, with development of the new S-Class (W140 1991-1998) over-budget and behind schedule, the production work on the 500 E project was out-sourced to Porsche.  Porsche’s engineers did a good job mating the 5.0 litre (303 cubic inch) V8 to the chassis, a task which included some modifications to the suspension and a flaring of the wheel arches to accommodate the wider track.  So subtle were the flares that they’re almost imperceptible to the casual viewer and without a standard W124 with which to compare, probably few notice.  That’s not surprising given the 500 E was a modest 56 mm (2.2 inches) wider than the more prosaic models (1,796 mm (70.7 in) vs 1,740 mm (68.5 in)).

1993 Mercedes-Benz E 500 Limited.  The variegated leathers used in the E500 Limited were much admired.  

However, those two-odd inches of additional width created by the wheel arch flares proved an unanticipated obstacle to volume production, the prototype found to be too wide to proceed at several points where the W124 production line turned corners.  As a glitch (in communication and systems management rather than engineering), it recalled an incident which afflicted the somewhat more ambitious Hubble Space Telescope (HST) which, upon deployment, was found to have one incorrectly ground mirror, blurring the images.  In software and hardware, NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) found a solution, a part of which was effected during a celebrated (and anyway scheduled) servicing mission.  On Earth, things were simpler for Mercedes-Benz which contracted with Porsche to handle part of the production process, the cars shuttled by truck between the two factories, located a few miles apart in Stuttgart.  That was inconvenient for Mercedes-Benz but fortuitous for Porsche, which, hard-hit by the recession-induced downturn in the sports car market, needed something to with which to make use of their now substantially idle facilities.  The well-publicized arrangement meant it took eighteen days to complete every 500 E but it added to the allure of the car and even at a very high price, 10,479 were sold and they were in many ways the blueprint for the AMG range which followed.  Encouraged by the success, the factory released the 400 E (1991-1995 and later renamed E 420) which, with a 4.2 litre (256 cubic inch) V8, didn’t demand the fitment of the five litre car’s wider track and flared wheel arches.  Being thus able to use the standard W124 production line, it was built at a much lower cost and 22,802 were sold.  The W124 line is regarded still as "peak E-Class" and nothing since has matched its build-quality or integrity of design.

Built by Ferrari: 1973 Dino 246 GTS with "chairs & flares" options.  These days, no longer dismissed as "Fiats", the Dinos are an accepted part of the family, the embrace doubtless partly induced by the high prices they command in the collector market despite being produced in a relatively high volume. 

The rhyming colloquialism “chairs and flares” (C&F to the Ferrari cognoscenti) is a reference to a pair of (separately available) options available on later production Dino 246s.  The options were (1) seats with inserts (the latter sometimes in a contrasting color) in the style used on the 365 GTB/4 (Daytona) & (2) wider Campagnolo Elektron wheels (which the factory only ever referred to by size) which necessitated flared wheel-arches.  In the early 1970s the factory wasn’t too punctilious in the keeping of records so it’s not known how many cars were originally built equipped with the wider (7½ x 14” vs 6½ x 14”) wheels but some privately maintained registers exist and on the basis of these it’s believed production was probably between 200-250 cars from a total run of 3569 (2,295 GT coupés & 1,274 GTS spyders (targa)).  They appear to have been most commonly ordered on UK & US market cars (although the numbers for Europe are described as “dubious” and thought an under-estimate; there are also an unknown number in other countries), the breakdown of verified production being:

246 GT: UK=22, Europe=5, US=5.
246 GTS: UK=21, Europe=2, US=91.

The “chairs and flares” cars are those which have both the Elektron option and the Daytona-style seats but because they were available separately, some were built with only one of the two, hence the existence of other slang terms in the Dino world including “Daytona package”, “Sebring spyder” (a strange concoction given Ferrari only ever used the spelling "spyder" for the 250 GT California Spyder (1957-1963) and otherwise used "spider") and, in the UK, the brutish “big arches”.  In 1974, the Dino's option list (in US$) comprised:

Power windows: $270.00
Metallic paint: $270.00
Leather upholstery: $450.00
Daytona type central seat panels: $115.00
Air-conditioning: $770.00
14 x 7½ wheels & fender flares: $680.00
AM/FM/SW radio: $315.00
Electric antenna & speakers: $100.00

At a combined US$795.00, the C&F combination has proved a good investment, now adding significantly to the price of the anyway highly collectable 246 and while it's hard in every instance to estimate the added value because so many other factors influence calculation, all else being equal, the premium is well over US$100,000.  Because it involves only wheels, upholstery and metal, the modifications can be emulated and while the price of a modified vehicle will not match that of an original, unlike some of the more radical modifications to Ferraris (such as conversions from berlinettas (coupés) to spiders (convertibles of some sort)), creating a C&F out of a standard 246 seems not to lower its value.  These things are always relative; in 1974 the C&F option added 5.2% to the Dino GTS's MRP (manufacturer's recommended price) or just under a third the cost of a new small car such as the Ford Pinto (then pre fuel-tankgate).  The  Dino GTS's MRP (for the US east coast) was US$15,225 while comparable MRPs for cars without options were at the time US$8475.00 for a Jaguar E-Type roadster, US$15,455 for a Mercedes-Benz 450 SL, US$10,800 for a Porsche 911 Targa and US$5,499 for a Chevrolet Corvette Convertible with the 454 cubic inch (7.4 litre) engine.  By 2024, at auction, exceptional 246 C&F cars were selling for over US$800,000 although that was still less than the earlier and visually similar 206 GT (152 examples produced between 1967-1969) which can command a million.  

Gas flaring on off-shore oil-rig.

It’s surprising gas flaring isn’t more controversial even than it is.  A practice which dates from the earliest days of oil extraction, it was originally merely a safety procedure, disposing of the surplus and unwanted gas unavoidably associated with oil production but has long been recognized as wasteful of a valuable natural resource which, if harvested, could be used to generate energy now produced by more polluting sources such as coal; the volume of gas flared annually (ie burned off in the atmosphere) is sufficient to satisfy the energy needs of all sub-Saharan Africa.  Additionally, the flaring process, which annually burns some 144 billion m³ of gas, is estimated to contribute to the atmosphere about 2.8 kilograms of CO₂ equivalent emissions for each m³, resulting in over 400 million tons of CO₂ annually and, the methane emissions resulting from the inefficiency of the flare combustion contribute significantly to global warming.  This is especially acute in the medium term because methane is over 80 times more powerful than CO₂ as a greenhouse gas so on a 20-year timeframe, the multiplier effect means the annual CO₂ equivalent emissions are increased by nearly 100 million tons.  There are technical solutions to this which would remove the need for most flaring as well as providing a valuable energy source less polluting than coal or diesel but, for the oil industry, the economics are not compelling.  Nor, given the relationships between the fossil-fuel industry and politicians, does there seem to be any hint of political will to pursue the issue.

Hearse

Hearse (pronounce hurs)

(1) A vehicle, such as a specially designed car or carriage, used to carry a coffin to a place of worship and ultimately to a cemetery or crematorium; a bier or hand-cart for conveying the dead to the grave.

(2) A triangular frame for holding candles, used at the service of Tenebrae (in Christianity (Western), a service celebrated on the evening before or early morning of Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Holy Saturday, involving the gradual extinguishing of candles while a series of readings and psalms are chanted or recited).

(3) A framework of wood or metal placed over the coffin or tomb of the deceased and covered with a pall; also, a temporary canopy bearing wax lights and set up in a church, under which the coffin was placed during the funeral ceremonies.

(4) A hind (female deer) in the second year of her age.

(5) A grave, coffin, tomb, or sepulchral monument (obsolete).

1250–1300; From the Middle English herse, hers & herce (a flat framework for candles, hung over a coffin), from the Middle French herse (a harrow; long rake for breaking up soil, harrow; portcullis (and in churches a descriptor of those large chandeliers with some resemblance to the long prongs of a rake)), from the Old French herce, from the Medieval Latin hercia, from the Classical Latin herpicem, accusative of hirpex (harrow), a rustic word ultimately from the Oscan hirpus (wolf), said by some etymologists to be an allusion to its sharp teeth but not all agree although all seem to concur the Oscan term is related to the Latin hīrsūtus (bristly, shaggy (and the source of hirsute)).

The verb rehearse dates from circa 1300 and was from Middle English rehersen & rehercen (to give an account of, report, tell, narrate (a story); speak or write words) and by the early fourteenth century the meaning had extended to "repeat, reiterate".  The source was the Anglo-French rehearser, from the twelfth century Old French rehercier (to go over again, repeat (literally "to rake over, turn over" (soil, ground, furrows in a field))), the construct being re- (again) + hercier (to drag, trail (on the ground), be dragged along the ground; rake, harrow (land); rip, tear, wound; repeat, rehearse;" from the French forms herce & herse (a harrow).  In English, the meaning "to say over again, repeat what has already been said or written" dates from the mid-fourteenth century, the now familiar sense (as a transitive & intransitive verb) of "practice (a play, part, etc.) in private to prepare for a public performance" emerged in the 1570s.

The use of hearse to describe the vehicles carrying coffins has become so pervasive that it’s now only in ecclesiastical jargon that funeral displays or church fittings are now so-named.  The funeral display picked up the name because they typically resembled a harrow and it was only in the fifteenth century that the sense of "a portcullis" appeared in English.  From there, use extended to other temporary frameworks built over the dead to be used while ceremonies were in progress while the idea of a "vehicle for carrying a dead person to the grave" came into use in the 1640s, the adoption presumably stimulated by covering structures being added to the horse drawn carts (or biers) on which coffins had traditionally been transported uncovered.

Recent hearses of note

Lindsay Lohan in habit, emerging from hearse in Machete (2010).  The Machete hearse was based on a 1987 Cadillac Brougham (1987-1992).

Between 1931-1979, General Motors' Cadillac division offered a line called the Cadillac Commercial Chassis, a long-wheelbase, heavy-duty platform which was mechanically complete but with a partially built body (without bodywork rear of the windscreen, doors and other panels included on request).  Produced on the D platform (exclusive to Cadillac), the Commercial Chassis was used by coach-builders to create high-roofed ambulances, hearses (often called funeral coaches in the US) and cleverly designed hybrids which at short notice could be converted from ambulances to hearses or used by a coroner's staff to transport a corpse; they were popular in towns with small populations.  The early Commercial Chassis were based on the Series 355 (1931-1935) and the Series 75 (1936-1992) from 1936 and although there were specific modification to the frame, the mechanical components were always shared with the 75 which, used for the big limousines, meant costs were amortized across the ranges.  After 1980, production continued on the downsized platform but there was no longer a separate D platform, the partially bodied cars structurally identical to the mainstream line.  The landau irons (which some coachbuilders insist should be called "carriage bars") on the rear side-panels emulate in style (though not function) those used on horse-drawn carriages and early automobiles (the last probably the Mercedes-Benz 300 (the “Adenauer”; W186 (1951-1957) & W189 (1957-1962)) Cabriolet D.  On those vehicles, the irons actually supported the folding mechanism for the fabric roof but on hearses they are merely decorative, there to relieve the slab-sidedness of the expanse of flat metal.

Funeral procession of Kim I: Kim Il-sung (1912-1994; The Great Leader of DPRK (North Korea) 1948-1994 (left) and Kim II: Kim Jong-il (1941–2011; The Dear Leader 1994-2011) (right).  For the latter sad event, Kim III (Kim Jong-un (b 1984; The Supreme Leader since 2011) was chief mourner and is here pictured with his left hand holding the wing mirror, the location of which identifies the cars as having probably been sold in Japan. 

In the West, the tradition is now for the coffin to be carried in a glassed-in enclosure, in effect a lengthened station-wagon, often with a raised roof.  Big station wagons are now extinct so hearses are fabricated by coach-builders usually with a large sedan or SUV as a base but in the wacky world of hearses, anything seems to be possible.  One quirky variation is pursued by Kim dynasty in the DPRK (North Korea).  There, the coffin is displayed on fluffy catafalque mounted on the roof of a limousine, something not far removed from the military tradition of using horse-drawn gun carriages.

The DPRK’s hearse appears to be a 1975 or 1976 Lincoln Continental which has been lengthened, presumably by one of the US coachbuilders with which Ford made such arrangements when the cars were new.  Given the state of US-DPRK relations since the end of the Korean War (1950-1953), the unexpected appearance of the big Lincolns attracted comment when first seen at the Great Leader’s funeral in 1994.  There were three stretched Lincolns in the cortege, all appearing to have been built in 1975 or 1976 (based on the full rear fender skirts and the five vertical bars separating the grille into six sections (the later Continentals used a narrower style)) and all would be powered by a 460 cubic inch (7.5 litre) version of Ford 385 series engine.  The wheelbase on two of the cars had been extended by an estimated 36 inches (915 mm), the other by perhaps a foot (300 mm) but all appeared equipped with fittings which suggested they’d been prepared for the Japanese market and the assumption is it’s from Japan they were exported.  That’s contrary to Japanese law but it’s known to happen, using third countries (usually China) as a first port-of-call, the practice being continued by Kim III who appears to have few problems obtaining the Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royces which now adorn the presidential fleet, despite Western sanctions intended to stop such imports by the DPRK.  As the funeral of the UK’s Queen Elizabeth II illustrated, there is much symbolism in the continuity of use of the symbols and regalia of a dynastic past and should the Supreme Leader die (God forbid), it’s highly likely the Lincoln will carry his corpse.

Land Rover used at the funeral Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (1921-2021).

In the narrow technical sense, the Land Rover should probably be considered a funeral bier rather than a hearse because the coffin was un-covered, the word hearse applied to such vehicles only after the hearses (framed coverings used in churches) were added to funeral biers in the 1640s.  It’s a distinction unlikely to bother many and the Land Rover has been almost universally referred to as a hearse.

It may look like many a Land Rover but, remarkably, the duke tinkered with the design over sixteen years, the result a modified 2003 Defender TD5 130 chassis cab finished in a military specification green (called dark-bronze green (or GDB in army supply parlance, reflecting the color appearing as “Green, Dark Bronze" in military databases).  Functionally, the most obvious modifications are to the tray where stainless steel stanchions with buffered, laterally placed rollers were engineered to secure the coffin and fitted to a custom made catafalque, for strength fabricated in steel rather the aluminum used for most of a Land Rover’s bodywork.  It’s actually a quite thoughtful design, suitable for parade and non-parade modes of coffin conveyance.  For parades, the coffin can be carried atop the catafalque while for transport tasks, the long, external strap hinges on the heavy steel rear hatch allow a coffin to be slipped inside the bed and thus out of view.  The rear hatch opens not to either side, but down and it includes a centre brace which folds to the ground, thereby bracing the hatch flat and so providing the bearers with more convenient lateral access to the coffin as they slide it in and out.  Cut into either side of the cabin's rear are two curved rear windows, affording the attending footmen extra visibility of their load when it's atop.  As a functional device to be used by an old Navy man, the workmanship is sturdy and well-finished but there’s been no attempt to conceal or disguise the bolt-heads and rivets.  So, it was a bit more than most of the Land Rovers (“gun buses” he called them) he used on shooting parties here and there and while he had long ago told the queen “...just stick me in the back of a Land Rover and drive me to Windsor", sixteen years of mission creep followed.

Hearses by German coach builders, Pollmann of Bremen: 1959 Mercedes-Benz 300 (W189, left) and 1967 Mercedes-Benz 600 (W100, right).

Pollmann of Bremen have a long history in the construction of Mercedes-Benz hearses and after some difficult times in the early post-war years, the Wirtschaftswunder (the German post-war economic miracle) which emerged in the 1950s encouraged them to move from utilitarian designs to something more grand and they converted a number of 300s (W186 & W189, nicknamed the “Adenauer” because Konrad Adenauer (1876–1967; chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FGR; West Germany) 1949-1963) used a number as the state limousine) models, one technical attraction being the innovative, self-levelling rear-suspension which provided a very stable load platform, regardless of the surface, something of some importance when carrying coffins.

The 600 was built on a (lengthened) 1967 short wheelbase (SWB) platform and remains a genuine one-off, the only 600 hearse ever built.  The story (which may be true), repeated whenever it’s offered for sale, is it was originally a sedan purchased by a German farmer (always referred to as Herr K) whose particular experience of the Wirtschaftswunder was the massive capital gain enjoyed when he sold his farmland for urban development.  Happy, he bought a Mercedes-Benz 600 (in champagne metallic gold) for his wife and commissioned an architect to design a house for them to enjoy.  Unfortunately, he arrived home one day to find the ungrateful hausfrau had run off with the architect and, unable to bear to keep the 600 because it was a reminder of the strumpet’s infidelity, he returned the car to the dealer to off-load.  It was sold to the coach-builders Pollmann which converted it to a hearse which seems appropriate although it's not known if the former farmer was impressed by the symbolism of the transformation.  It was for some years used for the purpose for which it was designed and has since been restored by US-based expert in all things 600esque, Karl Middelhauve.

Daimler DS420 hearse, funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, London, 6 September 1997 (right).

Diana's hearse (B626MRK) was a 1985 model, built by Wilcox Limousines and owned by the Funeral Directors Leverton & Sons; it was the last DS420 so modified by Wilcox before hearse production was shifted to the sister company Eagle Specialist Vehicles and was the same car used to collect her coffin from RAF Northolt after its arrival from France.  In 2003, Levertons sold B626MRK after it had for some years been in storage.  It was purchased by an anonymous buyer for £90,000, the somewhat macabre celebrity association gaining it quite a premium over the £3,000 and £4,000 a typical DS420 hearse of this age and condition would be expected to attract.  Inevitably, there was criticism, some claiming the thing should have been donated to a museum but, accustomed to death, undertakers are pragmatic and to Levertons doubtlessly it was just another piece of obsolete equipment to be sold to the highest bidder.  In production between 1968-1992, the DS420 was built on the platform of the old Mark X (1961-1966 which, substantially unchanged was renamed 420G and sold until 1970).  The bulk of the Mark X had in the 1960s proved an impediment to success but it made a fine basis for a limousine and spin-offs such as hearses and for decades the DS420 was a fixture in the wedding and funeral trades.  With the exception of some recent, lucrative forays into the "continuation" business (it's XKSS & lightweight E-Types), the DS420 was the last car to use the XK-six, first shown in 1948 in the XK120.     

State Jaguar XF hearse of the Royal Mews, built for the funeral of Elizabeth II (1926-2022; Queen of the UK and other places 1952-2022).

Elizabeth II was the first monarch of the television age and quickly grasped its implications, understanding better than many politicians of the early years of the mass-adoption of the medium that it used wisely it was a useful tool but that little good came from over-exposure.  Well acquainted too with a feeling for color, light and angle from long and sometimes doubtlessly tiresome sessions with painters and photographers, she sometimes surprised television producers with her knowledge of the technical aspects of their trade.  Her contributions the design of her own Jaguar XF hearse were those of someone who knew her funeral would be her last performance as a content provider for television and probably one which would attract the greatest audience in history.

Accordingly, the queen specified a design which would afford the best possible view of her coffin, regardless of the camera angle, so the glass would be more expansive, the roof was raised several inches from the dimension supplied originally by the royal household, the roof panel above the coffin fully glazed a particular request.  Climate change has affected the UK but it can still be relied upon sometimes to be dark and gloomy and, not knowing what the weather would offer on the day, she had the rear compartment fitted with lighting which would illuminate in a way that, if need be, there would be a clear, reflection-free view through the glass.  The state hearse was finished in Royal Claret, a specific royal-family color (and an official part-number used by manufacturers with a royal warrant) and has a notably large hood ornament, a silver-plated bronze statue of St. George slaying a dragon, a personal mascot of Her Majesty which appeared also on the state Bentley limousine.  The automotive ornaments seem to have been a bit of a thing for the queen, renderings of dogs sometimes observed on her Range Rovers.

Enclave & Exclave

Enclave (pronounced ahn-kleyv (U) or en-klave (non-U))

(1) A country or (especially), an outlying portion of a country, entirely or mostly surrounded by the territory of another country.

(2) In casual use (and as a quasi-technical term in demography and sub-strains of applied geography), any (usually) small, distinct area or group enclosed or isolated within a larger one.

(3) By extension, in politics, sociology etc, non-physically defined subsets of a whole; a group that set off from a larger population by its characteristics or behavior.    

(4) To isolate or enclose (especially territory) within a foreign or uncongenial environment; ie by an act of enclaving to created something enclaved.

(5) In pathology, a detached mass of tissue enclosed in tissue of another kind.

(6) In computer operating systems, an isolated portion of an application's address space which places certain restrictions on access by code outside the enclave (not to be confused with a sandbox (of which one or more enclaves may be a part.

(7) In geology, an aggregate of minerals or rock found inside another larger rock body.

1868: From the Middle French enclave, a noun derivative of enclaver (to enclose), from the Old French enclaver (to inclose, lock in), from the unattested Vulgar Latin inclāvāre (to lock in), the construct being in- + clave.  The prefix in- from the Proto-Italic en-, from the primitive Indo-European n̥- (not), a zero-grade form of the negative particle ne (not) and akin to ne-, nē & nī).  Clave was from clavis (key), from the Proto-Italic klāwis which was either (1) a secondary i-stem derivation of the primitive Indo-European kleu- & klēu (nail, pin, hook (the old instruments (ie bars & bolts) used to secure the doors of primitive structures)) from which Classical Latin also gained clāvus (nail), an inherited Indo-European word originally denoting an instrument for unlocking doors or (2) a loanword from the dialectal Ancient Greek κλᾱϝίς (klāwís) (in the Classical: κλείς (kleís)), from the same primitive Indo-European root.  Enclave is a noun, enclaved & enclaving are verbs and enclavish is the (rare) adjective; the noun plural is enclaves.

In political geography, the use to describe a "small portion of one country which is entirely surrounded by the territory of another" dates from 1868 in English but it had been in use in French since the mid-fifteenth century as a derivative of the thirteenth century verb enclaver which had since the late 1400s been a technical term in property law describing “a parcel of land surrounded by land owned by a another which could not be reached for its exploitation in a practical and sufficient manner without crossing the surrounding land”.  The legal mechanism to resolve this was what was called “servitude passage for the benefit of the owner of the surrounded land”, a device which was essentially a personal easement.  The word was first used in international law when the Treaty of Madrid was signed in 1526 and enclave came to be applied to just about any legally defined territory surrounded by land under other ownership, proving popular in English and many other languages although, under the Raj, "pocket" tended to be used instead and British geographical were also called detachments within the UK while the Colonial Office invented “detached dominions”.  In the Church of England, where the same concept existed as ecclesiastical districts, parishes, chapels or churches which operated outside the jurisdiction of the bishop and archdeacon of the diocese in which they were situated, the canon lawyers invented “the peculiar”.

As used to describe a segmented memory space in computer operating systems, enclaves are regarded by some as synonymous with sandboxes but the two constructs have separate purposes.  An enclave is created by an application as a memory space protected from the rest of the application yet if a call is made into the enclave, it remains able to access all memory used by the application; this is a deliberate aspect of the design.  Those requiring bi-directional exclusivity need to run their enclave (and in most cases thus the application) inside a sandbox, sonthing which obviously limits functionality in a production environment.

Enclave and exclave are distinct in legal definition and geographical consequence but in idiomatic or metaphorical use, enclave is used almost exclusively as a descriptor of anything where the idea is of something small surrounded by a larger whole.  It’s applied especially in economic and social demography (white enclave; Chinese enclave etc).   

Exclave (pronounced eks-kleyv)

(1) A portion of a country geographically separated from the main part by surrounding foreign territory.

(2) An outlying, detached portion of a gland or other part, as of the thyroid or pancreas; an accessory gland.

1885-1890: Modeled on enclave, the construct was ex- + -clave.  In Middle English, the prefix ex- was applied to words borrowed from Middle French.  It was from the Latin ex- (out of, from), from the primitive Indo-European eǵ- & eǵs- (out) and was cognate with the Ancient Greek ἐξ (out of, from), the Transalpine Gaulish ex- (out), the Old Irish ess- (out), the Old Church Slavonic изъ (izŭ) (out) and the Russian из (iz) (from, out of).  In English, the x in ex- sometimes is elided before certain constants, being reduced to e- (eg ejaculate), almost always to ensure spelling aligns with pronunciation.

In political geography, enclaves are territories (sometimes a disconnected part of a larger territory) wholly surrounded by another state or political entity and the edges need not be land borders, enclaves existing sometimes within territorial waters.  There are also semi-enclaves which differ from enclaves in that they possess (at least in part) a coastline which constitutes an un-surrounded sea border, thus providing and outlet to international waters.  Depending on historical circumstances, enclaves and semi-enclaves can be independent states or remote parts of sovereign states.

An exclave is that part of a state geographically separated from the main part by surrounding alien territory (which may be more than one foreign entity) and exclaves are in some cases also enclaves.  A pene-exclave is a part of the territory of one country that can be conveniently approached only through the territory of another country.  Pene- is from the Latin paene (almost).

At the international, national and sub-national level, there are literally hundreds of enclaves and exclaves, illustrative examples including:

Vatican City, an enclave surrounded wholly by Italy and in its modern form a creation of the Pacta Lateranensia (the Lateran Pacts of 1929), the most significant part of which is remembered as the Lateran Treaty which resolved many of the issues which had existed between Rome and the Holy See since the unification of Italy (1861-1871), one celebrated consequence of which was popes no longer living in self-imposed captivity in the Vatican.

The rather unimaginatively named  Australian Capital Territory (ACT), site of Canberra, the country’s artificially created capital, came about because during the debates in the 1890s about the idea of federating the six colonies as the Commonwealth of Australia, it became clear that the two largest states, New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria, would never accede to either becoming the national capital.  Accordingly, it was agreed the new capital would be located not less than 100 miles (160 km) from the NSW capital (Sydney) and that the Victorian capital (Melbourne), would be the seat of government until the new city was built.  Thus some sheep country was carved from NSW to become the ACT and there, Canberra was built.  It’s very hot in summer, very cold in winter and otherwise unremarkable other than having over the years soaked up extraordinary amounts of money.   

Just east of the exclave of Andorra, the little Spanish town of Llivia lies some two kilometres (1¼ miles) from Spain’s border, surrounded completely by France, thereby making it both enclave and exclave, depending on whether one views the place from Madrid or Paris.  The stranger arrangement exists by virtue of the Treaty of the Pyrenees (1659), when Spain ceded certain territories to France but the words in the document specified that only villages were to be transferred.  Llivia had long been gazetted as a town so remained Spanish.

In the narrow technical sense Alaska is a pene-exclave because although it cannot be reached overland except by transiting through Canada, it can be reached by sea or air because its coastline leads to international waters.  Alaska ranks with the Louisiana Purchase (in which the US in 1803 purchased from the French land equivalent to about 20% the size of the modern contiguous 48 states for less than US$20 per square mile) as the greatest real estate deals of all time.  The US in 1867 purchased Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million and during the twentieth century, there was much buyer’s remorse.

The medieval walled city of Dubrovnik sits on Croatia, Adriatic coast in the region of Dalmatia.  Laid siege to for seven months during the first of the Balkan wars which followed the breakup of Yugoslavia, the city was heavily shelled but in the late 1990s extensive repair work was undertaken with the assistance of overseas funding.  The southern-most part of Croatia's Dubrovnik-Neretva County, which includes Dubrovnik, is cut off from the rest of the country by a sliver of the neighboring Bosnia and Herzegovina, the 20-kilometre zone created in 1699 as a buffer zone between Venice and the Ottoman Empire.

Suddenly the world's most famous exclave (though many refer to it as an enclave which, in the sociological sense, it is), Kaliningrad, sandwiched between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea, is part of Russia.  Historically, it’s best remembered as a part of Prussia but, in the way Europe for centuries did things, its national identity has often changed.  It was known as Konigsberg German rule and was the site of an extraordinarily expensive (and militarily ineffectual) propaganda film produced by the Nazis towards the end of World War II.  It became part of the USSR in 1945 where it remained until Lithuanian independence in 1991 turned it into an exclave of Russia and to most it remained obscure until the invasion of Ukraine.

Buffer

Buffer (pronounced buhf-er)

(1) A static apparatus at the end of a railroad car, railroad track etc, for absorbing shock during coupling, collisions etc with the contact section made usually from spring-loaded steel pads or (in areas of low-speed activity such as shunting yards) timber.

(2) Any device, material, or apparatus used as a shield, cushion, or bumper, especially on machinery.

(3) Any intermediate or intervening shield or device reducing the danger of interaction between two machines, chemicals, electronic components etc.

(4) A person or thing that shields and protects against annoyance, harm, hostile forces etc, or that lessens the impact of a shock or reversal.

(5) Any reserve moneys, negotiable securities, legal procedures, etc., that protect a person, organization, or country against financial ruin.

(6) In ecology, as buffer state, an animal population that becomes the prey of a predator that usually feeds on a different species.

(7) In computing, a storage device for temporarily holding data until the device is ready to receive or process the data, as when a receiving unit has an operating speed lower (eg a printer) than that of the unit (eg a computer) feeding data to it.

(8) In electronics, a circuit with a single output activated by one or more of several inputs.

(9) In chemistry, any substance or mixture of compounds that, added to a solution, is capable of neutralizing both acids and bases without appreciably changing the original acidity or alkalinity of the solution; also called a buffer solution; any solution containing such a substance.

(10) To treat with a buffer.

(11) To cushion, shield, or protect; to lessen the adverse effect of; ease:

(12) In computing, temporarily to save data before actively accessing it so it may be loaded at a rapid or uniform rate.

(13) A device for polishing or buffing, as a buff stick or buff wheel, often in the form “floor buffer” for polishing floors; a worker who uses such a device.

(14) In admiralty slang, the senior non-commissioned officer serving on a ship or boat.

(15) In (mostly UK) colloquial use, a good-humored, slow-witted fellow, usually an elderly man, thus often as “old buffer” (archaic).

(16) In medicine, a preparation designed to decrease acidity in the stomach.

(17) In geopolitics, as buffer state, a country the land mass of which physically separates two opposing potentially powers and the existence of which is intended to prevent conflict or permit an attacked state a greater time to organize its defense.

(18) In geopolitics as buffer zone, a region separating two areas, often demilitarized, to segregate antagonistic populations: based usually on regional, ethnic or religious lines.

1835: The noun buffer in the sense of "something that absorbs a blow, apparatus for deadening the concussion between a moving body and that against which it strikes" was an agent noun from the obsolete verb buff (make a dull sound when struck), from the mid-sixteenth century Old French buffe & bufe (a blow, slap, punch).  The figurative sense of "anything that prevents impact or neutralizes the shock of impact of opposing forces" is from 1858 and was adopted universally by the railroad industry.  The sense of “one who or that which polishes by buffing” dates from 1854, an agent noun from the verb.  The verb use extended to “lessen the impact of” by 1886.  The use in chemistry began in the mid-nineteenth century, borrowed by analogy from the railroads although the meaning in science was soon extended and was adopted in electrical engineering.  In geopolitics the term wasn’t used until the mid-nineteenth century, the word again picked up from the general use inspired by railroads.  However, the concept had been well-understood for centuries.  The Congress of Vienna (1814-1815) created the United Kingdom of the Netherlands (modern day Belgium & the Netherlands) to remove the means of conflict between the UK, France & Prussia and although it lasted only until the separation of Belgian in 1830, the defined land-mass continued to fulfil the same function.

The derived forms include buffering, buffered & bufferize; the noun plural is buffers.  In the nineteenth century, a number of languages picked up buffer directly from English, including Danish, Dutch, Italian, Portuguese & Romansch, spread apparently by the international growth in railroad construction.

Europe 1945-1989.

The deployment of ten-odd Russian army divisions on the border with Ukraine’s revived interest in the old squabble about whether, in the last days of the USSR, politicians from the West made promises or at least provided assurances to Moscow that NATO would not expand eastwards.  The archivists have for decades been looking for any document which might clarify at least what was at the time discussed but nothing emerged until some material was declassified in 2017.  The conclusion is that the USSR was never offered any formal guarantee about NATO membership but the interpretations of what happened after 1990 vary, the view from the West that the enlargement of NATO was undertaken honorably and in accordance with the rights international law accords to sovereign states whereas Moscow’s narrative is one of Western deception and duplicity. 

Most scholars of the Cold War seem to agree the story begins in February 1990 when James Baker (b 1930; US secretary of state 1989-1992), secretary of state under George HW Bush (1924–2018; US president 1989-1993 (George XLI)) met with Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev (b 1931; leader of the USSR 1985-1991) in Moscow.  Only three months after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the matter of immediate interest was whether Germany, divided since 1945 into east and west, would be reunified, something that was most feared, though for different reasons, in the Kremlin and Downing Street.  London’s concern was its traditional fear to the emergence of an overwhelmingly strong Germany; Moscow feared the specter of NATO’s missiles being stationed in the GDR (East Germany). 

What both Russian and US transcripts of the meeting reveal was that the US position was it was in everyone’s interest that a unified Germany existed within NATO's political and military structure but at no point did either side discuss any of the nations aligned with the Warsaw Pact joining NATO.  That was not on the agenda because the thought of the imminent collapse of the USSR had not then occurred to many, none of whom were prominent in the US administration.  Orthodox political thought in the US, across most of the political spectrum, was that the Soviet empire probably was doomed but it’s life was expected to extend for at least decades.  A similar spirit animated the discussion Gorbachev had the next day with the FRG’s (West Germany) Chancellor Helmut Kohl (1930–2017; Chancellor of FRG or Germany 1982 to 1998), most taken up with the matter of German unification, NATO enlargement not even mentioned.  What was agreed was that the US, France, the UK and Germany, agreed not to deploy non-German NATO forces in the former East Germany.

In casual use, a "buffer zone" can be used of any mechanism (which need not be physical) designed prevents two entities coming into contact.

However, in the great geopolitical event of the second half of the twentieth century, the USSR did in 1991 collapse, ending the perhaps unhappy but essentially stable post-war arrangement whereby east and west were separated by an array of buffer states, the cordon sanitaire which was built by Comrade Stalin (1878–1953; leader of the USSR, 1924-1953), which constituted the line of the Iron Curtain from “…Stettin in the Baltic to Trieste in the Adriatic…”.  They were difficult years for the post-Soviet buffer states but, in 1999, NATO welcomed as members, three nations of the former Warsaw Pact: Hungary, Poland & the Czech Republic.  That sounds now like an event of great significance and of course it was but with all the social and economic disruption happening in Russia, it evoked surprisingly few complaints, the political faction in Moscow which tilted towards Europe and saw their country’s future there, much more influential than today.  Some did however dwell on things.  A decade after the first NATO expansion, Gorbachev complained that the West had tricked Moscow, claiming he’d been assured NATO would not be moving “one centimeter further east."

Gorbachev later retreated from that, in 2014 admitting that in all the discussions which followed the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification Germany, the topic of “NATO expansion” was never raised by either side, adding that not a single Eastern European country brought up the issue, not even after the Warsaw Pact had been dissolved 1991.  Equally sanguine seems to have been the first Russian president, Boris Yeltsin (1931–2007; president of the Russian Federation 1991-1999).  Although hardly enthusiastic about NATO expansion, he raised no objection but did urge caution on the West, warning it was important to take into account public opinion in Russia.  In that he may have had some misplaced faith in realism of those he viewed as his new Western partners, writing later that "the spirit of the treaty on the final settlement...precludes the option of expanding the NATO zone into the East."  None of that was in writing of course, the generous interpretation being inferences were drawn where no implications were intended.  Either that or, in Washington, views changed in the post Cold-War world.

Still, for a time, tensions seemed not great and cooperative structures were created including NATO-Russia Founding Act, a kind of statement of peaceful co-existence and in 2002, a joint consultative council was established as a framework in which differences could be resolved; rather wishy-washy in detail, it was regarded by most as ineffectual but at least harmless.  The real crossing of the Rubicon came in 2004 when NATO undertook its largest expansion, admitting seven more Eastern European countries including, critically, the Baltic states Latvia, Lithuania & Estonia, Latvia, all of which had been republics, unhappily, of the USSR.  It was the closest NATO’s divisions & missiles had ever been to Moscow.

By 2007 with the oil price high and the Russian economy thus buoyant, if rather distorted by its reliance on energy exports, the new Russian president, Vladimir Putin (b 1952; Russian president or prime-minister since 1999) made the official Russian position explicit, accusing NATO (ie the US) of duplicity and threatening Russia:  “I think it is obvious that NATO expansion has no relation with the modernization of the alliance itself or with ensuring security in Europe. On the contrary, it represents a serious provocation that reduces the level of mutual trust.”  “What happened to the assurances our Western partners made after the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact? Where are those declarations today?"  There being no documents, it seems Mr Putin might be relying on Mr Yeltsin’s evocation of the “spirit” of the discussions which both he and Mr Gorbachev had earlier confirmed contained no discussion of NATO expansion.  Still, some sense of realism was on display at a summit in Bucharest in 2008 when NATO declined to offer Georgia and Ukraine a fast-track path to membership but assured both they would eventually join the alliance.  No date was mentioned and it seemed a quiet triumph of Realpolitik for the Kremlin.

However, four months later, Russia invaded Georgia, crushing its armed forces and occupying two regions that had already had near complete autonomy.  Then, in 2014, after seizing and then annexing the Ukraine's Crimea Peninsula, Moscow equipped, financed, and provided military support to separatist fighters in eastern Ukraine, stoking the war that continues to this day, the death toll some fourteen-thousand.  NATO and the Kremlin no longer have active anything but emergency channels of communications.

Mr Putin is quite emphatic that assurances were provided NATO would never expand beyond what was necessitated by the unification of Germany and the last US ambassador to the USSR did insist, in his testimony to a congressional enquiry, that Mr Gorbachev had received assurances that if Germany united and remained in NATO, the borders of NATO would not move eastward and declassified documents released in 2017 do suggest Mr Baker may well have said “not one inch eastward” (source or Mr Gorbachev’s “one centimetre”) but that this was subsequently vetoed by Mr Bush who had a different vision of a “new world order”.  In the West, over the years, many seemed to treat all this as hearsay evidence and prefer to cite the 1990 treaty (the 2+4 Treaty) which created the framework by which German unification would be achieved.  There was no mention of NATO enlargement.  Beyond that, also invoked in the West is an argument apparently based on the doctrine of “acceptance by acquiescence” from contract law: Russia accepted enlargement, with detailed conditions, and in writing, when the NATO-Russia Founding Act was agreed.  One can see what they’re getting at but to use an analogy with domestic contract law seems a bit of a stretch but NATO expansion anyway didn’t happen in isolation.  The first expansion, in 1999, came around the time of the NATO’s bombing campaigns in the Balkans, a traditional Russian sphere of influence and aimed at their traditional allies the Serbs.  While sympathetic to the US operation in Afghanistan, the 2003 invasion of Iraq raised Moscow's ire.

Mr Putin’s position has since hardened.  The massing of infantry and cavalry divisions on the border has a nineteenth century feel but the economic and cyber warfare is already being waged and what’s already being called the Ukrainian crisis has attracted speculation from military and political theorists.  All agree (1) Mr Putin wants his buffer states back, (2) this is the first time in history the timing of military action must await the end of the closing ceremony of the Winter Olympics and (3), the Kremlin learned certain lessons about the nature of the Biden administration from the scuttle from Afghanistan.  There the consensus seems to end but Mr Putin's ambition, no less than a re-configuration of the architecture of European security arrangements back to the 1992 lines on the map, is breathtaking.  This is not however 1941 and the world isn't (yet) quite holding it's breath.  Mr Putin has gambled before and won and if he can emerge from this round with something tangible, like a land bridge to the Crimea, he'd take it.  He plans anyway to still be Tsar when all the Western leaders facing him are gone and believes Russia's position in the future will only strengthen.