RAF salute
I don't own this space under my name. I should have leased it while I still could
JJ, JJ, of course we knew that you were serious but saluting and RAF Policeman was obviously too good an opportunity to miss.
According to Fowler, Before letters standing for abbreviations or symbols the choice is usually determined by the sound of the letter, not the word it represents, eg, an R.A., an M.P.; but that is the sort of thing about which we ought to be allowed to do as we please, so long as we are consistent.
Finishing my coffee and back to repair my swimming pool.
Found my self looking up "how do you know when to use the indefinite articles?" The AEIOU (Y) rule is secondary to the Phonetic sound of the word the article will be put in front of. So the context of "R.A.F" or "raff" is valid!! There is a subsection on exceptions but its time to go out for a long walk!!
Finishing my coffee and back to repair my swimming pool.
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Most of Lincolnshire was a swimming pool on Thurs afternoon.
Last edited by Sideshow Bob; 30th Jun 2012 at 12:18.
Water is not too bad - just freeze your b@@ll@cks off gtting there - should be at least 5 deg C warmer air temp this time of year and it has just started raining AGAIN!
So the context of "R.A.F" or "raff" is valid!!
The use of 'raff' was beaten out of us by about the second day of OCTU. I still wince when I hear someone referring to the RAF as 'the raff'. We'll be having raff "planes" next!
Raff indeed
Btw anyone remember that film Guns at Batasi ? Good scene with Richard Attenborough as the RSM instructing a hapless African soldier on how to salute correctly in the middle of the parade square. Sounds like the snowdrop could do with some of the same!
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When I first posted on PPRuNe I always wrote R.A.F., as I always had done until some said, 'these days it's written RAF.' That to me would encourage the usage 'raff' which was practically a hanging offence, as you say TT. One day, God forbid, it'll probably be 'raff kites'!
