Hi, Thursday, July 22, 2004, 6:57:07 AM, Stan wrote:
> Bob, On this side of the pond, using what is oxymoronically known as > American English, there is a businesspersons' phrase which is used as > follows: "Dear Mr. Jones: In re: your letter of the 5th,..." with the > apparent presumption being that 're' is short for 'reference'. I have > never seen/heard 'in re to...' which you might expect if 're' were > taken to be short for 'reply'. > Could it be that 're:' is in fact proper usage, that it is a shorthand > reference to 'reference'? 'in re' is Latin meaning 'in the matter of'. It is a rather fusty, legalistic term - it cam into general use from the law. I personally would discourage it. It serves no useful purpose and just sounds archaic and bureaucratic, if not pompous. 'Businesspersons' are not necessarily our best guide to good style in writing <g>. -- Cheers, Bob
