In the battle for the apostrophe when and why did we lose “St Andrew’s” and “St Alban’s”, among others?
You suggest that the battle for the apostrophe may have been lost, but history records that the apostrophe appeared only in the 16th century — as an indication that a letter, or letters, have been omitted. It was only towards the end of the 17th century that an apostrophe indicated the singular possessive case. It was not until the end of the 18th century that the apostrophe, after the “s”, was first recorded as the plural possessive case.
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As far as the examples of St Andrews and St Albans are concerned, the partial relinquishment of the apostrophe dates from about 1900, with business firms, institutions, journals etc, which helped to change the practice. Vide Barclays Bank, the Citizens Advice Bureau, Diners Club, Harrods and Teachers Training College, for example.
In place names the best guide to the effective spelling is to consult your local maps. Consider the following: The Queen’s College (Oxford) but, for example, Queens’ College (Cambridge). If the universities of Oxford and Cambridge cannot predict an absolute rule, what hope can there be for foreigners endeavouring to check their spelling?
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Gerald Stonehill, Denham, Bucks
The apostrophe in St Alban’s (used by Shakespeare, for example) was lost in 1877 when a parliamentary draftsman omitted it from the Bill to elevate the town to city status. No one seems to have spotted the omission, and once the Act became law the apostrophe had been abolished by statute.
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Peter Burley, St Albans
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In 1877 the abbey church of St Alban become a cathedral. At the same time a royal charter was granted, making the town a city. It was meant to have been “the City of St Alban”, but the man who drew up the charter wrote “the City of St Albans” — and so it remains.
David Kelsall, St Albans
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How has the letter X come to be so closely associated with the unusual and the unknown?
X is short for the Classical Greek word xenos, meaning “stranger”. From this root word we get English words such as xenon (an unusual and rare gas that refuses to react with almost any other substance), xenophobia (a fear of strangers, foreigners, or the unknown) and xenolith (a rock transported by an agency such as a glacier into a location where it does not “belong”). We also get from xenos the term X-rays (unusual and unknown radiation). The term “X” has spawned sci-fi titles such as The X Files, and the name of the Xscape centre near Leeds (a centre offering exciting and unusual leisure activities).
Dr Hillary J. Shaw, Newport, Shropshire
In his 1637 work, La G?om?trie, Ren? Descartes used X, Y and Z for unknown variables. His printer asked if he could use X as a typesetting convenience and Descartes agreed. The X convention can be traced back to this work. However, X for unknown, entered popular use with the discovery of unknown rays by Wilhelm Conrad R?ntgen, which he called X-rays. This discovery caused a worldwide sensation in 1896 and though an attempt was made later to call them R?ntgen rays, the name X-rays stuck. The astronomer Percival Lowell used this popular resonance in commencing his search for “Planet X” which later led to the discovery of Pluto.
Russell Vallance, London SE16
Why are the winners of football competitions awarded a cup, lady winners at Wimbledon a plate, American football victors a bowl and various losers a wooden spoon?
In the days when the successful candidates in the mathematical tripos of Cambridge University were listed in ranking order, the student who came bottom was given a wooden spoon by his classmates. As he rose from his knees after receiving his degree certificate from the vice-chancellor, a wooden spoon was lowered from the gallery of the Senate House on ribbons in the colours of his college. This he would seize with his free hand, and then dash with it to the nearest pub, where he had to treat all his friends.
D. B. Welbourn, Selwyn College, Cambridge
Why were dinosaurs generally bigger than their present descendants?
Maria Elena Cherchi, Clonskeagh, Dublin
Which was the first church built in the UK as a Church of England church and, similarly, the first such cathedral?
Peter Burville, St Margaret’s Bay, Dover