The word "greybeard" is usable in written English and is well written.
It is typically used to refer to an older man, often one who is wise or experienced. Example: "The greybeard shared his stories of adventure with the eager young listeners." Alternatives include "elder" or "sage."
Hawn concedes that Last.fm is a "greybeard in the crowd" among a raft of emerging online music companies but says his service occupies a strong position at the "centre of the music ecosystem".
First held in 1965 - five years before Glastonbury came along - the Cambridge Folk Festival is very much the greybeard of the summer music scene, and while it may not be the last word in innovation, for sheer class and integrity, it can't be beaten.
Given that Guy Novès, the wizened old greybeard from Toulouse who has succeeded Philippe Saint-André as head coach of the French national team, has included only one Toulon player – the outstanding hooker Guilhem Guirado – in his latest training squad for the Six Nations, the club's internationalist position is not particularly easy for Meehan to defend.
And yet the odd thing, when it comes to football, is that Iceland's greybeard financial pirates are in their own ways the godfathers of all this.
He learned to befriend strangers by carrying an air rifle that "even the dourest greybeard" itched to fire.
At the mention of Greybeard, a novel he wrote 39 years ago in which humanity is ageing and unable to procreate, he swiftly moves from its obvious theme to a more personal recollection.
But the problem had also been acknowledged during "very frank discussions" at the SPBC, changes had been made, reviews had been ordered to make sure things were different, and Rudd has since vowed he would change his management style - to employ more elder "greybeards" to advise him, for example, to consult more, to communicate better.
"The reaction we got from the greybeards was 'that's a mad commitment because it'll cost a fortune to implement".
In the last few years they have hosted Sunni and Shia scholars who made joint denunciations of violence and extremism; at one recent Sunni-Shia gathering, greybeards agreed that followers of their respective traditions could live comfortably and loyally with worldly (ie, non-theocratic) forms of governance.
But it mightn't have been a bad thing if some of these greybeards had been in charge of monetary policy over the last 20 years.
A group of greybeards, some sporting Mao badges, murmur in assent.
