My favorite tidbit about le Carre is that he invented [1] terms like 'honey pot', 'mole', 'pavement artist', and other spy lingo. There's still some debate on whether or not he did it since he either denies some of these or says he 'can't remember' but, no matter what the truth is, he certainly popularized them greatly. The guy changed language with several new additions and that's a mark of a culturally significant man.

[1] https://www.oregonlive.com/books/2015/11/how_john_le_carre_r...