And so the association, the elision, is swiftly clarified.
Foreign office aides swiftly clarified that Johnson meant government officials, rather than England players.
"Not as a reference to drowning," she swiftly clarifies, "but to illustrate immobilisation and the feeling of 'being frozen', which many depressed people experience.
But Indian pundits and politicians, including within Congress, went ballistic, forcing Mr Singh into a rapid retreat.No peace process, he swiftly "clarified", could endure acts of Pakistan-linked terrorism.
When Guido Westerwelle, the foreign minister, mused about shifting the "time axis" for Greek reforms, the government swiftly clarified that he was talking of weeks, not months.
Last month, for example, Romano Prodi, the Italian prime minister, hinted that the Germans might seek a delay (although his remarks were swiftly "clarified" as the lira fell).In this section Can EMU be left to stew?
But on Tuesday, immigration officials moved swiftly to clarify their position and dampen those hopes, saying they have not made any policy changes that would provide an opening to gay couples.
Mr Dijsselbloem's spokeswoman moved swiftly to "clarify" her boss's comments, claiming that the issue of Cyprus being used as a template had been taken out of context.
Josep Suarez, head of the delegation of the government of Catalonia to the UK and Ireland told the Guardian that "the government of Catalonia is strongly concerned about the alleged manipulation and has decided to call on the European commission and the European parliament to swiftly launch an investigation to clarify this matter".
Lay promised to clarify Enron's famously inscrutable balance sheet and swiftly advanced Mark Frevert and Greg Whalley to the "office of the chairman," squelching concerns of an exodus of top talent.
What it happens to clarify is that people are liable to mislay their hearts as easily as their wallets, and — just in case you are tempted to construe such a loss as romantic — that both can be swiftly retrieved.
