Notions was a concept in 20th-century Irish culture. It meant "airs and graces", and was considered close to being a mortal sin. In 1966, Patricia Kiernan's father complained to the Mother Superior that her schoolbooks were giving Patricia notions. When fleeing home to help a Judoon, Patricia chose not to pause for a poignant moment like the runaways in her books, because she knew that her father considered poignancy to be notions. When the Thirteenth Doctor told her there were many worlds out there with "scared people making cages that keep themselves on the inside and everyone else out", Patricia realised she was talking about notions. (PROSE: The Rhino of Twenty-Three Strand Street)