Thanks Mups but the truth is the number of goes it takes me to spot the word is down to luck with which word was chosen for that day's puzzle. I usually just follow the same clockwork to solve it.

QuoteI was called Sir

By your wife?

' Please Sir... can I have some more?'

Do you have to bring the geraniums in in winter Mups  ? 

Madame?  That can have some quite different connotations though 😉

I was called Sir

Our female teachers were 'Miss'... and the males 'Sir'...
 I wouldn't call anyone Sir now.. 
I hear it in shops when an assistant is addressing a male customer.. 
I don't know what they call us females though.. 
I bet , under their breath, they have some great names for us..

Quote from: Scrumpy on April 18, 2026, 12:04:20 PMCrushed garlic...
I have just put some in the garden to deter foxes..
Does it work !! Who knows..

Ah,  So it's you is it.   I can smell it from here.   

I have heard this before,  so it will b e interesting to know if it works. 
I imagine you'd have to keep on replacing it though.

Oh bugger.    
I'll go and have a look for their Spam then. 

Crushed garlic...
I have just put some in the garden to deter foxes.. 
Does it work !! Who knows.. 

Quote from: Scrumpy on April 18, 2026, 11:58:01 AMDo you remember way back when most of the men who visited a home were 'Uncles'.. !!
How come we had 'Uncles' that were not even related to the family..!!
The word uncle now is seldom used .. We call most members if our family by their names..

Yes, that's true.

I don't think we would have been allowed to call adults by their first names in those days, would we.

It's always bugged me why school teachers think they should be called 'Sir,'  too.
I have never called anyone Sir  since I left school, and never would.

Funny when you think about it,  because the female teachers weren't called 'Lady',  so why did the men give themselves  a title??