A word to the wise

IN THE vast "phantasmagoria" of letters sent to The Times over the years, Grant Nemirow's message chiding Rachel Abramowitz for her extensive and interesting vocabulary must rank as an "aesthetic" "contretemps" of the highest order [Letters, June 15]. If the writer had even a "soupcon" of sense, he'd have scolded our current education system for its "diminution" of quality, not The Times for standing firm on the side of literacy.

If today's students are ever going to escape the "vicissitudes" of the more "bucolic" careers and function in the big city, they'd do well to note any unfamiliar words in Times articles and then open their dictionaries to expand their knowledge of our glorious language.

Preston Neal Jones

Hollywood