Readers Report

THE SLIPPERY SEMANTICS OF `SKIER-DAY'

Congratulations on recognizing that the term "skier-day" could use clarification ("Can't we all just schuss together?" Up Front, Dec. 19). Unfortunately, the explanation ("that's one skier per day") confuses "per" with "for one."

"Per" divides one unit by another, as in "words per page." But "for" multiplies units, as in "two skiers for a three-day stay"--which yields six skier-days. The correct meaning of a skier-day is "one skier for one day."

Edward MacNeal

Wayne, Pa.