Horrendous Gaffe By Dick Knight

[Publius Ovidius]

In the Argus, Dick sets out his argument for Falmer in an open letter to Mr Prescott

He begins it...Dear Deputy Prime Minister, and then ends it, Yours Sincerely.

Now I know people make the "there/their" error every now and again, however this is just plainly dreadful and the Argus proof readers should resign forthwith. When I was a school, it was "Yours faithfully" if you were addressing a Mr, or an office, and "yours sincerely" if you were addressing a David something, ie calling someone by their name, not title.

Good article though!

 

[Lord Bracknell]

... When I was a school ...

Ah, but Dave, these days you're a fire station.

 

[Publius Ovidius]

No I am a Data Centre...LOL

 

[Gwylan]

I was always taught that it was 'Yours faithfully' if the letter began 'Dear Sir (or Madam)' but 'Yours sincerely' if it began 'Dear Mr ...' We weren't taught about writing to Prezza but I'd go with Dick on this.

Perhaps you were taught differently in Yorkshire.

Or did you just want to call him Dick the Gaffer?

 

[aftershavedave]

i think he's actually got it right, although maybe by mistake...he's addressing a person he knows but is omitting his name. would be more correct to say Dear DPM Prescott, but i think he's OK as it is...

 

[Publius Ovidius]

But Dear Deputy Prime Minister is his office, therefore I would have thought it would be Yours Faithfully.

If he wanted to put Dear Mr Prescott, then yes, Yours Sincerely would have been the correct wording

N'est pas?

 

[Virgo's Haircut]

I was always taught that it was 'Yours faithfully' if the letter began 'Dear Sir (or Madam)' but 'Yours sincerely' if it began 'Dear Mr ...' We weren't taught about writing to Prezza but I'd go with Dick on this.

Perhaps you were taught differently in Yorkshire.

Or did you just want to call him Dick the Gaffer?

I agree with Gwylan here, I was taught that way too.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I was taught that the safest way was to compromise...

Yours sinfully.

 

[aftershavedave]

mais non dave le gerant

 

[CAFC Matt]

He should have wrote:

Dear John
Please please please please give us Falmer. I will vote for you for ever and ever eand ever!!!

Thanks sooooo much, you're friend
Dick

 

[Digweeds Trousers]

I wrote a letter once to David Bellotti and I started it with Listen hear you f***ing lying weasel Shit..............something about about dead man walking................burn your house down..............and then at the end of the letter was very confused. Should I finish Yours sincerely or yours faithfully or of course the more traditional 'and as your reading this look behind you. Yes I'm the one with the gun. Say your prayers toad face'.

Yes, I am bored.

 

[Turkey]

I didn't listen to my teachers.

 

[Faldo]

Apologies for interrupting... any chance of the article being posted?

PS - it should have been faithfully.

 

[Blackadder]

We were told to think of a Silly Fool (or Stupid F*cker )

ie S = Sir F = Faithfully, consequently a name would follow with sincerely.

 

[Publius Ovidius]

Its a huge full page spread...If I scan it do I have to get the argus's permission to replicate it here?

 

[CAFC Matt]

I didn't listen to my teachers.

So you pretty much wasted 11 years of your life

 

[Wilko]

I think he has got in right ! The rule is never put S + S together, in other words never use Sir and sincerely.

 

[Turkey]

So you pretty much wasted 11 years of your life

Yep and they made a banner about it too.

MARVELLOUS SCENES.

 

[Publius Ovidius]

In UK, the rule of etiquette is that a letter starting "Dear Sir" must end
"Yours faithfully", while a letter starting "Dear Mr Smith" must end "Yours
sincerely". (Of course, replace Sir with Madam and so forth as appropriate).
You normally use these forms even if you dislike the other person. For an
adult to start or end a letter without these formulaic expressions, unless
to a close friend or member of the family, would be interpreted as ignorant
or perhaps deliberately insulting.

The "Dear Sir / Yours faithfully" format was once used for all business
correspondence, and "Dear Mr [name] / Yours sincerely" for private
correspondence of a fairly formal kind. Nowadays much UK business
correspondence is in "Dear Mr [name] / Yours sincerely" format. If you know
a person well, you probably start "Dear John" and end "Yours", or "Yours
ever", or (in a hurry) "Yrs." Some people still use "Yours truly" in
formal private letters, but this is not standard.

[taken from the newsgroup: alt.english.usage]

 

[The Clown of Pevensey Bay]

He should actually have ended it with

I have the honour, sir, to remain your most humble and obediant servant.

Dick! Know your place!