Literacy

Reuter's report that OUP are preparing a Dictionary of Canadian English. Accord- ing to the editor-in-chief, Kathleen Barber, Canadian English is rich in terms from logging, the weather and hockey. "Skid row" was originally a reference to logging ramps on the West Coast; a "drift" is a smack on the head; "drop the puck" is an exhortation to get things moving. Worst of all, "He shoots, he scores," is an expression almost as common as "hello."

But enough of Canada. The following quotations have England, Scotland, France, Italy and Switzerland missing from them. But in what order?

1) "I look upon ----- as an inferior sort of -----" (Sydney Smith).

2) "----- is a paradise for women, and hell for horses; ----- a paradise for horses, hell for women." (Robert Burton)

3) "----- is a country where the money falls apart in your hands and you can't tear the toilet paper." (Billy Wilder)

Yesterday's answers:

Slurs, slurp, slump, plump, plume, flume. (Apologies for having accidentally transposed the clues to the first two).