I just returned from a week-long judges meeting at Semi-ah-Moo. Semi-ah-Moo is a Northwest Indian word which means, in a dialect spoken only by Faldage, "all major credit cards accepted."

In pursuit of the courts' goal of eliminating racism from our tribunals, we enjoyed a class in which we were reminded (appropriately) of those (many) things which a judge may say in open court which might be construed as racially insensitive, if not outright bigoted.

Almost all of this was review. We all know not to use racial slurs. We have all learned that there are racially-derogatory connotations to verbs like "gyp" and adjectives like "gypo".

But we were collectively stunned to learn that one ought no longer refer to the large pad of newsprint on which witnesses are allowed to draw charts and maps and graphs and diagrams as a "flip chart." This drawing pad is (or was) so called because one flips from one page of it to another, in showing the jury different things written or drawn by different witnesses. But no more.

It was explained to us that "flip" is a derogatory reference to Filipino persons.

In all my days (which are almost as many as those enjoyed by Heinlein's Lazarus Long), I have never heard the word "flip" used to refer to an ethnic group. Have you? Who knew?