In attacking politicians, Carborundum (TES, February, 6) appears to display great erudition, quoting the Red Queen about words meaning “what I mean them to mean”. The erudition is false, for the quote is inaccurate and the source is wrong. It was Humpty Dumpty, not the Red Queen, who said, “When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more or less.” That this demonstration of ignorance appears in The TES, a newspaper devoted to education, is a source of particular regret.
JOSEPH CHUBB Lechlade Mill Mill Lane Lechlade Gloucestershire