SR - titles, awards, and such ....

[Timothy A. McDaniel]

Another digression, I'm afraid.  (You're probably afraid too.)

On Tue, 19 Jan 1999, j'lynn yeates wrote:
> Are you referred to as milord Wolf

No, he's not.  "Milord" and "milady" are not titles and not styles, so
it's incorrect to use them as such.  "Oh, *you're* Wolf!  How does the
day, milord?" is fine.  "Oh, *you're* milord Wolf!" is not correct.

Tadhg Liath, then Star Principal Herald, said it well (March 1991
Ansteorran Gazette):

    WHAT TO CALL THE UNTITLED

    By their names, of course.  ... but I have heard people referred
    to in public, even called up into Court, bu the "titles" *milord*
    and *milady*.  "Will Master John, Do{n~}a Jane, and milord
    Pigbreath please come into Court." ... *Milord* and *milady* are
    polite forms of address in speaking directly to someone, and are
    improper for use in referring to third parties.  ... Those who
    don't have titles have names, and it is by those names that they
    are to be referred to.  There is nothing discourteous in referring
    to someone who is untitled in an announcement by just their name.
    Trust me.

I have often been told that if you are addressing someone and you
don't know their rank, "milord" or "milady" is always correct -- even
if it turns out you were addressing the King and Queen.  (In any
event, I have never met a king or queen of our good land who would be
in the least offended in such a case.)

Daniel "just 'Daniel' is fine by me" de Lincolia
-- 
Tim McDaniel (home); Reply-To: tmcd at crl.com; 
if that fail, tmcd at austin.ibm.com is my work address.
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