Britain Declares War on Words That Snuck into Our Skedule. Last Week, Writer Matthew Engel Declared War on the Americanisms That Are Ruining Our Language and Asked Mail on Sunday Readers for Examples of the Ones They Hated Most. He Was Swamped with Replies

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Byline: Matthew Engel

Mark Easton is the BBC home affairs editor. He spent some of his childhood in Winchester, apparently, not Wisconsin. And his job seems unlikely to offer extensive travel opportunities to the United States.

Yet the other night he referred to 'specialty shops' (note the missing i) on the Ten O'Clock News. The rest of his report must have been drowned out by the screaming and spluttering of thousands of Mail on Sunday readers, who share my horror at the way British English is being overwhelmed by a tidal wave of mindless Americanisms.

My article in last week's Review (Say No To The Get-Go) brought forth a huge response, almost all of it supportive. …