Did you know that winter is often spoken about light-heartedly in popular culture as ‘cuffing season’, because it’s the time of year when even the neighbour’s cat might start eyeing up your dog, just to avoid spending Christmas alone?

Singles of the younger generation call it this because you’ll effectively handcuff yourself to a partner despite knowing they aren’t ‘the one’ – less Fifty Shades of Grey, more sharing a blanket and mutual loathing of January.

It’s basically a winter deal where you latch on not for everlasting love, but for someone to defrost your toes and split a box of shortbread until the daffodils make their annual come back.

Before you roll your eyes at the concept, it’s worthwhile acknowledging that while the young ones have given it a name, this isn’t a new thing.

I often remember my granny declaring “Thon one is handcuffed to a lunatic!” – usually referring to whatever weirdo that my cousins or I (usually I) brought home for presentation to the queen of the family.

Since it was Valentine’s Day on Saturday, I thought I would invite all the gloriously single women and men to take a bow at their own self-restraint, not simply falling for the first dog that barks at them in order to........

© The Irish News