26 JANUARY 2008, Page 24

Parrisites write

Sir: Sniglet, Matthew, is the answer to your problem (Another voice, 19 January). Sniglet is a word to describe a much-needed word which does not exist. It was coined at least 20 years ago in an excellent little book aptly called Sniglets. This book gave my family hours of entertainment. Our favourite definition was ‘hound-winding’, to describe the actions of a dog as it settles into its bed.

Anthea Del Mar

Hampshire

Sir: Following the appeal by Matthew Parris for examples of missing English words, it struck me that there is no collective noun for those who enjoy his witty and interesting articles. Could we be ‘Parrisites’?

Dr Norman Dawes

Bury St Edmunds