Licensees have been called many things but comparing them to "battered wives" brought some much-needed drama to a generally orderly Federation of Licensed Victuallers Associations annual meeting in Scarborough.
The words came from the mouth of one of the trade's more colourful personalities, Anita Adams, who brought the conference - and Snifter - to life at the end of a largely mundane two-day gathering.
Adams, you may know, delights in calling "a spade a spade" and she was at the digging end of things again when she suggested that some hosts had become caught up in a battered wives' syndrome. "We have been battered by regulation after regulation and one government edict after another.
"Unless you work at the sharp end of the trade you cannot appreciate what is being thrown against us, but this battering has got to stop," she announced.
The target of Adams' aggression was not simply politicians and civil servants but the "experts" who argue the industry's case along the corridors of power.
The nub of her argument seemed to be that unless you actually pulled pints behind the bar you were unlikely to appreciate the current lot of a working licensee.
It brought a heated reaction from one equally well-known trade personality in the room who appeared to take the whole thing personally. A shouting match was only avoided when the protester was told to quieten down by another member of the audience - his wife!
Adams insisted afterwards there had been nothing personal in her comments but the phrase "battered wives" will from now on take on a new meaning for some.