6 OCTOBER 1979, Page 17

Something afoot

Sir: It would be churlish to cavil at Auberon Waugh's review of dictionanes, with its generous praise of our own ephemeral effort. All the same, I cannot suppress a nagging curiosity about what Mr Waugh, with his view that old meanings are more correct than modern ones, puts on his feet when he gets up in the morning. Surely it cannot be socks, for as we all know the 'correct' meaning of 'sock' is a light boot worn by Roman actors in comedy. I Patrick Hanks Editor, Collins English Dictionary, 14 St James's Place, London SW1