In TV writing, Armando Iannucci’s satire ‘The Thick of It’ is brilliant – equal parts hysterically funny, terrifyingly believable, and Oh-my-God-I-can’t-believe-he-actually-said-that – and it’s got the most satisfyingly creative insults ever.

The thicker your skin, the easier life is.

Blood is thicker than water. At least they say it is.

This blowing dust became increasingly thicker. It was very much like landing in a fast moving ground fog.