It is a reminder that, were Scots to back independence, this would mark the beginning and not the end of a long, tortuous process of negotiation between the Scottish and Westminster governments - over currency, the monarchy, the armed forces, North Sea oil revenues, pension rights and much more besides.

BBC: Scottish independence: Does it take two to separate?

The whole tortuous tale shows that it is not true that the commission is indifferent to fraud.

ECONOMIST: Charlemagne

But for those who must navigate not the seas or the stars, but our tortuous civil justice system, the term conjures epic nightmares.

FORBES: America's True Growth Industry: Legal Discovery