Hurrah, Mr. Handy.  The word "niggardly" has a very precise meaning and
there is no exact substitute for it in the English language.  That is true
with so many words we tend to use improperly, or fail to use at all.

Robert T. Handy wrote:


>Then let's engage in a conversation about all the reaction to the use of
"niggardly" by a department head in Washingtion who was fired by the Mayor
for using it.
>
>Talk about demands  that we dumb down so the undeducated and uninformed can
understand us!  How about our educational establishment demanding more of
students.  Or is it the case that most educators would not know the word
either (my wife is a second grade teacher, bless her heart, and she did not
know the meaning of the word).




>
>
>------
>Robert Handy
>Brazoria County Historical Museum
>100 East Cedar
>Angleton, Texas  77515
>(409) 864-1208
>museum_bob
>[log in to unmask]
>http://www.bchm.org
>
>----------
>From:   Heidi Carroll[SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>Sent:   Monday, February 08, 1999 8:29 AM
>To:     [log in to unmask]
>Subject:        Re: Was: Your TOP EVENT Now: news
>
>Would it be naive to think that perhaps if newspapers did not write at
>the educational level of the audience, the "'dumbing down' of literacy
>in America" would at least slow down, hopefully even reverse itself?
>We all must attend high school, so why can't we read higher than a
>fourth grade level anyway?
>H. Carroll
>
>
>>newspapers adhere to a writing style that suits their
>>audience; there are those that consciously write for those with
>fourth-grade
>>educations.  There are very few newspapers of quality left in the
>United
>>States.  Unfortunately, we're seeing evidence on this list of the
>"dumbing
>>down" of literacy in America.
>
>______________________________________________________
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