Recently a number of my colleagues have complained about the intricacies of your

publications crossword, to this time created by one Robin Davies.

In a strictly professional sense they have some justification for this viewpoint.

Mr. Davies predilection for the economic turn of phrase, gender relationship and

disdain for 'incorrect' behavior may be ascertained from his compilation of clues.

On the most recent issue (Vol.,2/No. 10) whether or not " address of respect"

(1,4) "no sense of moral rectitude" (6) "an ill-mannered person"

(4) bear a resemblance to spoken English, Greater Pacific English or English used

in Cambodia is far from the intrinsic wealth of the crossword per se.

As a TOEFL instructor I delight in spending free-time journeying through the obscure

worlds of verbiage, ancient and prosaic. Strange behavior perhaps but I don't sleep

with Roget. However the ultimate reason for mindboggling''s continuance in its present

exhaustive-not elitist-form is because it questions my Khmer colleagues. From puzzlement

has come the desire to plan and master considerably easier versions of the genre.

After all, a war of words is infinitely preferable to what occurs around us.

- Peter Steer University of Phnom Penh