Names
Mispronouncing names isn't a 'microaggression'
People can make a bewildering number of offensive transgressions these days: from using the wrong pronoun when addressing people to…
Why Pontins thinks I’m an ‘undesirable guest’
Why Pontins thinks I’m an ‘undesirable guest’
Letters: Immunity passports are nothing to fear
Nothing to fear Sir: Many of us await the day when we can travel abroad for much-anticipated holidays — but…
Where would politics be without fighting talk?
‘Tencent Wykeham’ has a ring to it. It captures how easily British universities can be bought. It is the new…
The rudeness of calling Jane Austen by her surname
I agree with Charles Moore (The Spectator, 6 February) that it is a shame the Times is dropping its use…
Lockdowns can destroy the lives they’re intended to protect
Some Leavers are perturbed that Lord Frost was suddenly stood down as the next National Security Adviser. This anxiety may…
Letters: Solidarity is the best thing for Scotland
SNP sophistry Sir: Andrew Wilson (‘Scot free’, 21 November) poses the question: ‘What if the case for independence was a…
First names are for friends and family, not bosses and builders
The death of the surname
The EU hasn’t settled the ‘German question’. It’s reopened it
‘No one can seriously deny that European integration brought an end to Franco-German conflict and has settled the German question…
How baby names got so weird
How Wolf and Skylar pushed out John and Mary
Wear The Fox Hat looks innocent enough but try saying it in an Irish accent
President Lyndon B. Johnson’s image never quite recovered in many people’s view from the photograph of him picking up his…
Saints still beat Game of Thrones for baby-naming – but maybe not Mohammed
We reached peak Charlie in 2012, when 5,571 baby boys were given the name. There were only 4,642 last year.…
How many asexuals are there?
No sex, please Several friends of the late Sir Edward Heath asserted that he could not be guilty of sexually…
Don’t want a Princess Charlotte? Try Violant, Fatima, Davina, Senna…
It could have been much worse. Someone had pointed out that among the new baby’s ancestors was Queen Violant of…
Nicky Haslam’s diary: Marie-Anna Berta Felicie Johanna Ghislaine Theodora Huberta Georgina Helene Genoveva and other big names
I was once bundled into a police car in Palm Springs to explain why I didn’t have snow-tyres on my…
The joy of cemeteries
How to get the best out of visiting a cemetery
Letters: On quitting Facebook, and putting down Nigel
Why we joined Sir: I was astonished by the assertion made by Wyn Grant (Letters, 21 September) that ‘the postwar…
