Sir, - If Mr Brendan O'Brien wishes to criticise the standard of writing in your newspaper as severely as he does (May 11th and 28th), he ought to produce convincing examples.
The fact that the spelling variants criticised by Mr O'Brien are listed in the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary means that they have been found in reputable writers. Therefore the use of "forego" for "forgo" "millennium" for "millennium" can hardly be called "howlers".
When there is variation in the spelling of a word among such reputable writers, your journalists and sub-editors cannot be faulted for using one of the variants. - Yours, etc.,
Gerald E. Smyth,
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Ushiku City, japan