Advertisement

Whatchamacallit breaks all the rules

<span>Photograph: Colin Underhill/Alamy</span>
Photograph: Colin Underhill/Alamy

As a family, whenever we play Scrabble, we set the ground rules first – any word that is challenged must be checked in (a very old edition of) Chambers Dictionary. It makes things civilised. Perhaps whoever sets the Wordiply challenge might like to specify the rules – “anesthesiologist” was rightly criticised recently (Letters, 5 March), but on 27 March there was “whatchamacallit”, which is not even in a modern version of Chambers. Play fair, please!
Sally Cheseldine
Balerno, Edinburgh

• Those who are following the correspondence on failing hearing (Letters, 21 March) should know of the Wilful Hearing Attenuation Test (WHAT) that our grandchildren apply to their father. I understand that he frequently fails it. Grandpa and I are exempt, as proud wearers of NHS hearing aids.
Susan Saunders
Teddington, London

• Every time I type “Ofsted”, my spellcheck corrects it to “Ousted”. Is it trying to tell us something about the future of this organisation, which is quite obviously not fit for purpose (Editorial, 26 March)?
Marjorie Ouvry
Blackheath, London

• Bidisha Mamata, writing about a Catholic group offering free tattoos (Opinion, 22 March), says this is “pure Old Testament from first to last”. Leviticus chapter 19 verse 28 suggests otherwise.
Marcus Pittman
Leigh-on-Sea, Essex

• A headline on your website’s homepage (24 March) offered excellent advice: “UK public warned not to eat Baronet soft cheese after death”. Thank you – I will bear it in mind in the afterlife.
Alan Barr
Drybeck, Cumbria

• So Kwasi Kwarteng and Matt Hancock are happy to work as advisers for £10,000 a day (‘He’s a great guy’: Kwasi Kwarteng told fake firm he could introduce them to Boris Johnson, 26 March). What price somebody competent?
Sean Young
Wick, Worcestershire

• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.