BTW, Junkie, your comment about "having to pull out a dictionary" was directed to me ? 
Is "calumny" a particularly posh/unusual word in English ? Because in French "calomnie" and in Italian "calunnia" are actually quite common words.
Yep, "calumny" is basically unheard of in English. For that matter, English seems to be losing a number of French loans. Imagine my shock to learn that the word "menage" was once actually used in English. At any rate, I appreciate learning new words; even if they
are archaisms.
