Full text of an angry letter written by food critic Giles Coren to his sub-editors at The Times...
…because they removed an indefinite article (“a”) from one of his pieces.
Part of me wants to hate him for being all self-righteous and up himself over something that is, in the whole scheme of things, really minor. And he does come across as a bit of a cock in this letter. But at the same time, I appeciate how annoying some un-thought-through editing can be (oh, woe is me, I have such a hard life).
I always appreciated guidance and constructive criticism, but when editors (very occasionally) miss the point it can be mighty annoying. I remember a piece I wrote for my 6th Form magazine where they changed my title of “Universitas Solas Nobilitas?” (a hugely witty pun on our school motto) to simply “Universitas Solas Nobilitas”. I felt like I’d been violated. (There’s a quote for White Whines if ever there were one).
But Coren, if you’re going to get all uppity over grammar and scansion, at least use capital letters on your first person singular pronouns. ;-)
