Thanks to new member DRMacIver, I have learnt of a new language called Clay that seems possibly interesting. Indeed, besides details arising from its immaturity, Clay's only readily apparent oddity is that argument passing is strictly by reference. Otherwise, it has proper destructors, supports full-on generic programming cleanly, and lacks what Stepanov called "O-O gook". Is this the fabled Glorious Successor to C++ of song and story? If not, it's the closest approach I have encountered.