Humor is a most effective, yet frequently neglected,
means of handling the difficult situations in our lives. It can be used for
patching up differences, apologizing, saying "no", criticizing, getting the
other fellow to do what you want without losing his face. For some jobs, it is
the only tool that can succeed. It is a way to discuss subjects so sensitive
that serious dialogue may start a riot. For example, many believe that comedians
on television are doing more today for racial and religious tolerance than are
people in any other forum. Humor is often the best way to keep
a small misunderstanding from escalating into a big deal. Recently a neighbor of
mine had a squabble with his wife as she drove him to the airport. Airborne, he
felt miserable, and he knew she did, too. Two hours after she returned home, she
received a long-distance phone call. "Person-to-person for Mrs. I.A. Pologize,"
intoned the operator. "That’s spelled ’P’ as in...". In a twinkling, the whole
day changed from grim to lovely at both ends of the wire. An
English hostess with a quick wit was giving a formal dinner for eight
distinguished guests whom she hoped to enlist in a major charity drive.
Austerity was a fashion in England at the time, and she had asked her children
to serve the meal. She knew that anything could happen—and it did, just as her
son, with the studied concentration of a tightrope walker, brought in a large
roast turkey: he successfully elbowed the swinging dining-room door, but the
back swing bespattered the bird onto the dining-room floor. The
boy stood rooted, guests stared at their plates. Moving only her head the
hostess smiled at her son, "No harm, Daniel," she said, "just pick him up and
take him back to the kitchen"—she enunciated clearly so he would think about
what she was saying—"and bring in the other one". A wink and a
one-liner instantly changed the dinner from a red-faced embarrassment to a
conspiracy of fun. From the context, we may guess that the word "squabble" means ______.