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Correct Chris, but like you I only know it from the tv show, written by Ben Elton I think

Talking of TV programmes, on Pointless recently contestants had to supply missing prepositions to book titles. The answer to one was "as".

Now I don't think "as" is ever a preposition and Chambers and the OED agree with me. However, Collins says it is. It just shows you don't always know whom[/] to trust.

in an interview in the guardian recently, vanessa redgrave requested that she be referred to as actress rather than actor. today's letter page has taken up the idea and suggested, amongst others, doctresses, engineeress, and teacheress...

That's a ridiculous proposal.
Surely everybody knows that the correct terms are: lady doctors, lady engineers, lady teachers.

Chrise Nelson

Thanks. Vanessessa Redgrave is correct in that she is an actress. I heard Jodie Whittaker refer to herself today as an actor. She is mistaken, unless this refers to an actress playing a male part.

The Guardian is mistaken for once, as engineer applies to men and women, while the correct words for the other professions are mistress and doctrix.

to be fair, it was letter writers, possibly tongue-in-cheek, not the guardian itself!

Paul

Apologies for lack of posts recently. I am still trying to decode jigjag's message to Malone. I am puzzzled by one of the PMs, unless it is prairie marmot. Perhaps Malone has replied to him with a PM.

This from Saturday's Times:
"Police (in Mexico) found a severed limb near a highway flyover which led them to the pile of taped bags (containing body parts)".
I imagine it hopped along in front of them.

Obviously some poor Mexicans don`t have a leg to stand on!

This is from an episode of the drama series Light Perpetual on Radio 4 last Friday (the context was the dispute between The Times and the print unions in 1979).

“ . . . as a typesetter, Alex is a member of the National Geographical Association.”