Diva/Mensch pair for Nov 19, 2025

I have two weeks to occupy in November before starting a new series in December. I'm doing a mini series on hot words of the moment. First up is "demure."

Diva: demure being a hot word

Mensch: the actual meaning of the word

It cracked me up how this old school word became such a cultural trend. It seems like it's used in a somewhat shady way, more like "ladylike" or "madame," both of which imply a woman of a certain age who's remarkably mild-mannered and somewhat fossilized in her presentation.

But really it just means someone who's well-mannered and ladylike, a lady mensch! And where's the problem there.

This video is allegedly the one that set off the fuse, on TikTok (natch):

But someone who is actually demure? I choose Grace Kelly - - at the time of this interview, Princess Grace of Monaco. She's so poised, so refined, she answers his questions so thoughtfully. We could all grab a little bit of that demure from her.

BTW Pierre Salinger needed to spend a little more money on that awful rug. What was he thinking.