2 APRIL 1994, Page 31

Twerp alert

Sir: I was interested to read Andro Lin- Mater's review of Warren Farrell's book (Books, 19 March). I had always under- stood that in the first world war the British army used particularly incompetent pigeons for communication purposes. The particu- lar variety was the 'Antwerp pigeon' and the expression 'twerp' has since been used to describe somebody who is incompetent and hopeless.

David Loyd

17 Larkhall Rise, London SW4