‘Near-Miss’

I was appalled that you would devote so much time and space to maligning the great unwashed for “misusing” the compound word “near-miss” (Editorial, July 27).

According to my dictionary, “Near-miss--n. Hit, nearly.” It has meant thus since the earliest days of aerial bombing when there were not enough aircraft to pose collision dangers. So what is the big deal?

L.D. SMITHEY

Pacific Palisades