Sloppy English
From Mrs S. Hagan
Sir: When the Prime Minister — putatively a literate man — stabs all of us in the back by publicly using, and that to the assembled press of the world — the crass and notorious illiteracy of " flaunt " for "flout," has it finally become time for us to abandon the unequal struggle?
If so, however, we must go down fighting. At all forthcoming elections where there are Conservative candidates, defenders of the language should "spoil the ballot-paper" by writing across it as follows:
"It is necessary to FLOUT a Party whose chosen leader FLAUNTS his ignorance of the nation's noble tongue."
Alternatively, the Prime Minister should admit error, apologise, and issue a correction to the world's press — some of whom, on turning to their dictionaries, may well have produced deeply mystifying translations of this baffling supposition that the leftist militants are going to "flaunt " the freeze. . . .
If not, he will surely be pursued
Previous page
