You probably know that one of my "betes noir" is the abbreviation of words.

So here are two more:

(1) Uni (University) and

(2) Pee (penny/pence)

I don't know when people started using "Uni" for University. I think it was at about the time when many technical colleges were becoming "universities". Would undergraduates at Oxford or Cambridge say "Uni" when referring to their colleges?

I note that the University of Surrey (one I respect) has a website "UniS". Shame on them!

On to "Pee".

I was 37 in 1971, when decimal currency was introduced in the UK - so I was well-grounded in "Pounds, Shillings and Pence".

When the switch was made, we just dropped one of the units ("shillings"), but continued with the other two - "Pounds" and "Pence". So £1.20 became "One Pound 20 Pence", or "One Pound Twenty".

£0.50 was 50 pence, £0.90 was 90 pence etc. and £0.01 was "one penny". (At first "one NEW penny")

Who decided to abbreviate "penny" to "pee" (or is it "pea"?)

And, while I am going on about it - £0.01 is "One penny" not "One Pence" (the plural form.)

How often, at the till in a shop, have you been told "One pence change" ?