Page 20 Daily Mail, Thursday, March 5, 2020
Crustaceans?
They’re all so
VERY crabby
Sir, i was interested to read the
open letter sent by leaders of
Women’s Aid and the Women’s
Equality Party in which they called
on the Oxford University Press to
abolish its dictionaries’ ‘sexist’
definitions of the word ‘woman’.
i share their outrage that the
Oxford English Dictionary contin-
ues to include synonyms such as
‘chick’, ‘popsy’, ‘wifie’ and ‘maid’,
along with sexist examples such as:
‘God, woman, will you just listen?’
The prejudice does not end there.
As a leading chicken, i believe the
domesticated fowl community has
for too long had to suffer the use of
the word ‘chicken’ to mean ‘cow-
ardly’, eg. ‘i bet you wouldn’t leap
over that stream — you’re chicken!’
it so happens that we chickens
are well known for our courage and
fortitude. History is littered with
examples of brave chickens. The
time has come for the OED to
remove all trace of this singularly
waspish definition.
Geoffrey Chicken (ret’d),
The Coop, Taunton, Somerset.AS A leading wasp, i
take exception to the
thoughtless letter
above. For centuries,
wasps have remained
silent while succes-
sive dictionaries have
offensively defined
‘waspish’ as ‘queru-
l o u s , t e s t y a n d
peevish’. Of course,
no definition could
be further from the
truth. We wasps pride
o u r s e l v e s o n o u r
easy-going charm
and good manners,
and only sting people
and animals as and
when it is necessary.
it is time these outdated insults
were eradicated. The compilers of
the OED must act energetically
and decisively. This is no time
for sluggishness.
Wendy Wasp, Action on
Wasp Abuse, Wimbledon.AS cHAirmOllUSc for Justice
for Slugs, i take grave exception to
your previous correspondent.
contrary to the abusive definition
of ‘sluggish behaviour’ as ‘lacking
energy, slow to respond’, we slugs
are, in fact, remarkably alert,
energetic creatures, leading busy
and productive lives.
O u r c a m p a i g n t o e n d s u c h
gratutious insults has suffered from
poor funding. Some of us are as
poor as church mice. But our
struggle will never cease!
Susan Slug,
Justice for Slugs, Southwold.AS A leading light of the church
mouse Association, may i say how
deeply offended we are by the
repetition of the simile ‘as poor as
church mice’?
Nothing could be further from the
truth. The vast majority of churchmice are very comfortably off and
our historic nests are the envy of
the world. most of us are able to
afford two or three holidays a year
and live in some of the country’s
best abbeys and cathedrals.
it is high time the compilers of
the OED stopped being so crabby.
Michael Mouse,
Second Hole on the Right,
The Old Rectory, Norfolk.WE, THE undersigned, wish to
object in the strongest possible
terms to your previous correspond-
ent’s use of the adjective ‘crabby’
to mean ‘irritable and surly’.
The crab community has been
subjected to this type of thought-
less abuse for far too long. Enough!
Far from being irritable, we are
well-known for our sweet nature
and generous with our compli-
ments. To suggest otherwise is
crabbist and offensive. These catty
definitions must cease.
Charles and Caroline Crab,
directors of Crustaceans
Against Abuse.iN THiS day and
age, i find it hard to
believe that mr and
m r s c r a b s h o u l d
i n d u l g e i n t h e i r
deeply wounding and
ill-founded remarks
a g a i n s t t h e
cat community.
T h r o u g h o u r
cuddliness, elegance
and calm, cats have
b e c o m e t h e m o s t
p o p u l a r o f a l l
household pets.
if we were in any
way gossipy or given
to tittle-tattle, as the
O x f o r d E n g l i s h
Dictionary definition
of ‘catty’ suggests, then we would
never have established such a
remarkable reputation. As it is, our
owners value our extraordinary
sense of discretion.
How dare the crabs continue to
parrot the offensive term ‘catty’ in
its outdated meaning of ‘spiteful
and malicious’!
Cat Stevens, Cat Deeley
and 124 others.THOSE of us in the pressure group
Proud To Be A Parrot are upset by
your correspondents’ casual use of
the verb ‘to parrot’ in its meaning
of ‘to repeat mindlessly’.
P a r r o t s a r e i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y
recognised as highly intelligent
creatures. We boast many members
in mensa and currently occupy
a l l t h e k e y p o s i t i o n s i n t h e
British cabinet.
For any dictionary to suggest
otherwise is unacceptable. i call on
all other members of the animal
kingdom to join us in our campagin
to fight thoughtless prejudice
wherever it occurs.
This is no time to be sheepish.
Pretty Polly Parrot,
Portsmouth.Craig
Brown
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/craigbrown