GLOSSARY FOR THE MODERN TRAVELLER

Desperate times call for desperate measures. But it’s hard to think of anything that smacks more of impotent fury, rage and aggression than the new, terrifyingly international trend for “axe-throwing bars”.

They really are as simple as they sound: bars where you can hurl a medieval weapon at an archery-style circular target between sips of beer. Hotels are getting in on the act too, with the newly-opened Downtown Sporting Club in Nashville cheerily billing axe-throwing as “similar to shooting darts”. Except a lot more mad. But everything is a lot more mad these days, so perhaps we need pastimes to match.

The hotel assures us guests that we’re in safe hands, with a coach, two axes (for rival teams) and “a full hour of cathartic fun”, which actually does sound like a lovely way to while away those jet-lagged, wakeful hours before the breakfast buffet opens.

And if you’re trying to dismiss this as merely an American trend – which is how the British have been dismissing alarming social developments for centuries – you could run into an axe-hurler in plenty of international destinations this winter.

Singapore was an early adopter, opening the Axe Factor range (axefactor.com.sg), about a year ago. “We provide a unique hang-out for people from all walks of life to unwind and vent their frustrations by hurling axes.” Just like a spa, then.

Learn the lingo: “I just missed my Kill

Ring shot by a millimetre and I’m angrier than when I was passed over for promotion.”