HANDS up all those who have never heard of a ‘man cave’?

I confess I hadn’t come across the faintly sexist term until a Tele story about a Greenock man applying for planning permission to build such a sanctuary.

The mental image of a man cave that popped into my head was of a hirsute Neanderthal geezer sheltering in a mountain redoubt, a big fire going to ward off snarling, starving wolves staring savagely in at him.

Actually, the slightly less dramatic reality is to have a retreat inside or outside the house, such as a spare room or garden shed, where men can spend time without fear of upsetting wives or girlfriends.

The term man cave has been around for years, apparently, and featured in a 2007 Chicago Tribune article in which the writer inferred it was something to do with males having an identity problem because of ‘the women’s movement’.

Even Elvis Presley’s famous ‘jungle room’, I learned, has since been described as a ‘man cave’, although his was perhaps more luxurious than most of us could ever afford.

The phrase is thought to originate from the 1992 book, Men are From Mars, Women Are from Venus, by American relationship counsellor John Gray, which I might get around to perusing if I ever feel the urge to construct a cave.

Loads of guys could be following this planning application closely, so get ready for man caves becoming all the rage in Inverclyde!