´óÏó´«Ã½

Monitor note: Some late Thursday/early Friday letters. More follows...

"" Bunkum! There's no 'chance' element of it. If Mr Houghton had not been a patent lawyer then the patent application would not have been made and there would have been no story.
Basil Long, Leicester

Def "initial-sake" (n): the first alcoholic beverage of a night out in Tokyo?
David, UK

My initial-sakes make up more or less the entire western male population as it is the illustrious MR.
Martin Rose, Suffolk, UK

Clearly the ´óÏó´«Ã½ doesn't believe Max Mosley's denials that the video shows he has Nazi tendencies, when it leads with the sports headline "".
Harvey Mayne, Frankfurt, Germany

The furore about the is a funny thing, as last year's French entry was in English as well - and no one in France complained. (The fact that the song was rather useless may have helped).
Johan van Slooten, Urk, The Netherlands

Re " ... tinkering under the hood ... " (Your Letters, Wednesday): probably female but most definitely American.
Jill B., Detroit

Monitor note: There will be some tinkering under the hood of our blogs overnight
The hood!! Is this ABC?
Ken, Hornchurch

Did anyone else notice the absence of the word 'on' from this sentence: "Normal service will resume Thursday". I reckon it's a give away about nationality-I'm convinced the Magazine Monitor is from the USA, it's the only place I've seen this beore.
Clara, Birmingham, UK

Re Trina's comment about Shakespeare (Your Letters, Tuesday). I went through state education and the first Shakespeare we read was Sonnet 116:
Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds, [etc]. I've not read any Byron. Should I remove my copy of Shakespeare's sonnets from the the bedside table lest I appear privately educated?
Lyndsey, Cambridge

While I hate to introduce a rare note of pedantry to MM letters, Jeremy is incorrect to say that a Champagne sabre slices through the neck of a bottle (Your Letters, Wednesday). It actually hits the bulge around the neck and simply knocks the top off. My own Champagne sabre is completely blunt but still works just fine.
Adam, London, UK

No, Jeremy, Brussels, "the champagne sabre" does not "slice through" the bottle; the back of the sabre is swiped quickly up the length of the bottle to knock off the top above the collar including the cork. Health and safety warning: only to be attempted outdoors.
Keith, Lismore, Ireland

There's such a thing as a champagne sabre?
Jill B., Detroit

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