Synonymous Kinnock
Sir: Mr Neil Kinnock seems addicted to synonyms, giving the word a wide defini- tion in the manner of crossword setters. When he suggests that Mr Alasdair Milne was 'pressured, shoved, pushed and bul- lied' into resigning from the BBC and when he describes a statement by Mrs Thatcher as 'full of falsehoods, deceptions, fabrications, distortions and half-truths' there is evidence of a tendency never to use one word if up to ten would suffice.
In one of P. G. Wodehouse's Mr Mullin- er stories, a young couple who are cross- Word fanatics pursue their courtship in a torrent of synonyms. There can be no question that Mr Kinnock has a thesaurus of synonyms on instant recall. Perhaps he would find great happiness if he took UP crossword setting and solving instead of shouting hysterically at Mrs Thatcher across the floor of the House of Commons.
P. J. Meade
Luccombe, Coronation Road, South Ascot, Berkshire
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