A chara, - I have been an active quizmaster for over 10 years, during which time I have set and asked thousands of questions. I would like to reply to D.K. Henderson's sneering letter (June 28th) by saying a few words in defence of the question setters for Who Wants to be a Millionaire?
They are not perfect, and have unquestionably made mistakes - concerning some of which I have been in correspondence with Tyrone Productions. However, the error which led to the recent controversy was easily and honestly made. You will search long and hard in standard English dictionaries and general medical reference works to find a definition of "lunula" which refers to the heart.
Works in which no such reference appears include the Oxford English Dictionary complete edition), Funk & Wagnall's Standard Dictionary, Black's Medical Dictionary and Gray's Anatomy. You will find such a definition only in specialised medical reference works, to which those of us who are not cardiac surgeons would normally have neither access nor recourse.
This was a genuine, understandable mistake; having considered the evidence, Tyrone Productions did what was right, giving the contestant the redress to which he was morally, though perhaps not legally, entitled.
God help those who never make an honest mistake! - Is mise,
Pat Lonergan, Moorefield Park, Newbridge, Co Kildare.