A secret is something that’s kept, or intended to be kept, from most people. You might think the meaning of the word isn’t a secret, but switching on the television or picking up a newspaper or magazine will soon show how wrong you are. Almost every day someone will be offering to share their secrets of success, beauty secrets, reveal whose secret love child they are etc etc.

Here’s a top tip, if you want to keep something secret, don’t give the details to the papers, or TV reporters. If you want lots of people to know, then what you’re offering isn’t a secret – it’s a tip, piece of advice, comment, item of gossip or most frequently a blatant publicity stunt. (Maybe I should have picked cynical as this week’s word?)