notes & asides.(Letter to the Editor)

* Dear Mr. Buckley: After reading Gilbert Quezada's letter to you (N&A, May 9) wherein he discussed the word "encephalophonic," I am somewhat hesitant to call your attention to an incorrect word usage in your On the Right column (same issue), "Can We Stop Illegals?" I refer to the sentence: "The Berliners began with barbed wire, which grew to high cement walls." The proper word is "concrete," not "cement." Cement is a mixture of alumina, silica, lime, and iron oxide, and when mixed with a mineral aggregate (as sand and gravel) and sufficient water creates a mass called concrete. Cement is the "glue" that holds the whole mess together; concrete is the final product.

Cordially, Jack Bober San Diego, Calif.

Dear Mr. Bober: Thanks and well put. Which of the two is more bulletproof? Cordially, WFB

* Dear Mr. Buckley: I am in a state of confusion due to the poor grammar used by our nation's advertising copywriters. An item on sale is breathlessly touted as being "up to 50 percent off, and more." Now I ask you, how can something be up to 50 percent off, and more, at the same time? In addition, I see countless ads offering "free gifts." I have rarely in my life ever paid for a gift, and if I did so it would cease so be a gift and become a purchase. Are you able to help me with what these advertisers are saying? My head is spinning.

Regards, Russell R. Boedeker Portland, Ore.

Dear Mr. Boedeker: Well, I can try. Law 1: Merchandising prose is idiomatic and seeks regularly to take advantage of non-mortal parrying by intended victims. So, being "up to 50 percent off, and more," is merchandise malt for: "Our sales bring prices down by 50 percent, and here and there by more than 50 percent." Since the merchandisers were on a roll, they might have gone on to say, "Where the ...