Sloppy English
Sir: May I add my own protest to your correspondents' by denouncing finalise? Here is Mr Green attempting (December 30) to finalise averages. Presumably the use of summation two lines before bred a fear of repetition in the sentence and forbade the obvious summarise or sum up. Why not have attempted to review or merely tot up the averages? Soon some judge will, despite the
abolition of capital punishment, finalise a thug's career when passing sentence, some actress finalise hers with an autobiography, some borough engineer finalise the town's sewers with his annual report.
Even in its legitimate sense of finish, what need of this mongrel when we have end, stop, terminate, complete, make, etc? Did Shakes peare write, "How oft the sight of means to finalise ill deeds Make ill deeds finalised "? But I had better finalise this letter and sign myself Selwyn Turner 48 Clarendon Road, Leeds 2
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