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From p.11 of The Times 30.08.21:

'Features of phased licenses in other countries include a curfew on driving at night...'

I used to give my pupils the example of advice (noun)/advise (verb) because you can hear the difference, unlike licence/license, practice/practise.

I think the Times error above was more careless subediting than ignorance as 'licence' was used correctly in the same article. It would need a very special spell-checker to pick it up.

The Americans have no problem, using 'license' and never 'licence'. However, I rather like the distinction.

I enjoy the old-fashioned signs above pub doorways: 'J Bloggs, licensed to sell.....'

Paul

Yes I like the distinction too. Those signs seem to be dying out sadly.

Grunger Malone

I hope you are watching the BBC series "Virgil", set on a submarine and featuring coxswains, boatswains and the like. "Virgil" promises to be a classic!

to resurrect a previous discussion, this (rather feeble) clue was in the guardian yesterday:
Artist who is chippy about her work? (8)

someone on fifteensquared commented:
Why “her” which would seem to imply sculptress?

Thanks, Paul. Putting this in the learn something new every day category. I had thought you all always used "licence" and we always used "license."

chrise

Yes this nonsense annoys me. Sculptor is male and sculptress is female. Sculptor can be used as in "Barbara Hepworth was one of the best sculptors of the 20th century."

Similar for actors and actresses.

Jigjag

yes I am enjoying it. I love Endeavour as the coxswain, though he is irritating my with his fake Liverpool accent when he has a real one, which is lovely.

JIgjag, Grunger

Yes, I've been watching 'Vigil' and trying to keep up with all the terminology. The 'XO' confused me for a while - apparently that's Executive Officer. I suppose EO sounds too Winnie the Pooh-like!

I'd be quite happy for Sculptress to be consigned to history. Poetess seems to have gone that way and the world hasn't stopped turning.

I read this in the Sunday Times, Aug 29:

[He wrote] "demanding he arrange for he, his animals and his team to leave Kabul."

Malone, jigjag, grunger

re -ess words

Monday's Times 15ac:
Maybe dark snake meeting female bird out at night (10)

WINDOWLESS

so spot the female bird!

Vigil: I'm not deaf but I find switching on the subtitles aids comprehension.

My retired naval brother is utterly dismissive of the research. Cap badges all wrong and the sub's interior is far too large. He is amused at a nuclear sub taking on passengers when in 60m depth of water.

I don't think naval officers do dramatic licence.

Paul, I thought that was an awful clue. I generally dislike the use of the -ess ending, but in this case “owless” is not in Chambers, unlike, say, sculptress.

Paul... and Mathprof.... thanks for the 'owless' information. That's definitely not a word I'd ever want to use, it just looks awful.

Paul, thanks for the 'Vigil', navy, stuff. The submarine we saw looked far too small, closed in, for me - I dread to think how I'd fare in an even smaller one.