In the 1970s and 80s there was a war raging between Tintin and Asterix. You either liked one or the other. I was – and am still – a Tintin fan, and never liked Asterix. The impish Gaul has been having adventures since 1959 and has proved hugely popular. He’s not to be confused, as some people seem to do, with the humble asterisk [as-tuh-risk], derived from the Greek for ‘little star’, and is used as a reference mark or footnote*.

*Like this. It can be used to indicate additional or doubtful matter. Such as, be careful also not to confuse Obelix with obelisk.