begemots

“I mean, when a man reaches…a certain age,” he tried again, “he knows the world is never going to be perfect. He’s got used to it being a bit, a bit…”

“Manky?” Nobby suggested. […]

“Exactly,” said Colon. “Like it’s never going to be perfect, so you just do the best you can, right? But when there’s a kid on the way, well, suddenly a man sees it different. He thinks: my kid’s got to grow up in this mess. Time to clean it up. Time to make it a Better World. He gets a bit…keen. Full of ginger.”

// Terry Pratchett, Night Watch