The word knismesis

IF YOU are ever sitting out on the ocean in a small boat and a bad tempered great white shark pops its head out of the water, then “knismesis” is the life-saving word that should spring to mind. Knismesis is a light tickle. Simply cup your hand over the great white’s snout and gently tickle. Peter Benchley, the author of Jaws, saw it done off the South African coast and describes the result in Shark! his very latest book. The great white, he says, “rose out of the water, gaped for several seconds as if hypnotised, then slipped backward, down…