26 JUNE 1982, Page 21

Hacking on

Sir: Max Hastings's discovery of the verb `to hack' (22 May) reminds me of my first encounter with the verb. Some years ago, while travelling on a crowded commuter train to New York city, an attractive, slim blonde sitting opposite complained to her neighbour, a fat, greasy 280-pounder wrestling with his morning paper, that he was 'interrupting her order of priorities'. 'Lady', he replied, `if you can't hack it, take a cab.' A 'hackney' cab perhaps?

R.M. Holloway

17 Watford Road, The Peak, Hong Kong