Thanks for that, Terry. I collect quotations on words and writing. I'll add your find to my list. Some others: A good writer should be so simple that he has no faults, only sins. William Butler Yeats (1865-1939), The Death of Synge. No man but a blockhead ever wrote, except for money. Samuel Johnson, in James Boswell's Life of Johnson, 1. As writers become more numerous, it is natural for readers to become more indolent. Oliver Goldsmith (1728-1774), The Bee "When I use a word," Humpty Dumpty said in a rather scornful tone, "it means just what I choose it to mean, - neither more nor less." Lewis Carroll (1832-1898), Alice Through the Looking-Glass. Regards, Steve ---- Terry Dowling <Terrence.Dowling@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: ============= We should not write so that it is possible for the reader to understand us, but so that it is impossible for him to misunderstand us. -Quintilian (Marcus Fabius Quintilianus), rhetorician (c. 35-100) == I bet this guy would have enjoyed being amongst some of our email debates. Cheers, Terry