Thank you, Elizabeth. I probably don't see myself as a language policeman, though I used to be one of those guardians of the law, (if I'm to put it nicely), and so perhaps some of the ethos has insinuated itself into my mind.

In my view, I'm fortunate because for as long as i can remember, I have been able to relate to and speak with others from virtually any background, age, gender, occupation, educational level or social status.

I attribute that to the joy, vicarious experience and learning which, from an early age, wide reading has given me. As someone who grew in a relatively poor and 'common', (British parlance.), area but subsequently worked in all manner of occupations from production lines to teaching university students. That was a disaster for me in what would be commonly considered a successful career but, in my opinionated :-) view, enriched my life more than I'll ever know.

Thank you, too, for checking my prose. I admit to being as prone to mistakes as is the next person. Indeed, I make many of them, not least because my thoughts often run faster than I can get them down on paper, so to speak.

'Nope" is fine, incidentally. I fully accept that there are a range of variations of speaking or writing and that some can be quite appropriate in one context yet certainly not in another.

None of that, of course, detracts from my having some strong dislikes for some contortions or uses of the language, regardless of the context. 'Mother f..k-r' being one of those and 'kid', when used in reference to a child. As you would know, a kid is a young goat. However, given that GOAT has come to have a very different meaning today, perhaps if a child is a kid and a kid is a GOAT, then I shouldn't be offended because it's a compliment, not an insult.

Take care. Stay safe. ☮️

#borc