Ma’am for short
SIR – Jeremy Parr (Letters, June 23) remembers the Palace informing him to rhyme ma’am with arm when addressing Princess Alexandra.
I sincerely advise him not to attempt to address the Princess Royal in such a manner. HRH is famous for insisting that it is “Ma’am, as in jam!” Alan G Barstow
Onslunda, Skåne, Sweden
SIR – Correspondence on whether Telegraph should be pronounced with a long or a short a reminded me of a debate when I was at university.
The house I lived in had a balance of southerners and northerners. The former, such as myself, insisted that bath should have a long a, as in barff. The latter insisted with equal vehemence that it should be pronounced with a short a, as in baff.
We settled the dispute amicably by concluding that the words referred to two very different events. A barff was a long, leisurely and meticulous ablution, whereas a baff meant that you were in and out in less than two minutes.
In any event, years later I still make the distinction in my household. Knowing whether my wife is having a barff or a baff, before going out, gives me a very good indication as to how long I might have to wait before the bathroom is free. Clive Appleby
Enfield, Middlesex