"Lord X was an old buffer."
What is the difference between an old duffer and an old buffer, with respect to human beings? (the_alchemist asked, I'd love to know too.)
Also on the subject of language recently: C wasn't familiar with the phrase "to phone in a performance".
I'd never encountered "the subject in hand" before, only "the subject at hand"; yet, from online discussions, the former is apparently much more widespread and more multinational than the latter.