30 MARCH 1912, Page 17

WHAT AN " !DER "1

LTo THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]

SIR,—In your last issue you refer to "Murray's Dictionary" as the " High Court of • letters." Is it really a reliable authority ? I used to think .so, but my faith was sadly shaken when in the '.1Coneise Oxford Dictionary," recently published as an abridgment.of the larger work, I found the pronunciation of " idea " given as "Ida." I was aware that sonic people did pronounce it so, but I set that down to pro- vincialism, affectation, or mere ignorance. Can it be an