Remember the old proverb, “Cross-writing makes cross-reading.”
“The _old_ proverb?” you say enquiringly. “_How_ old?” Well, not so
_very_ ancient, I must confess. In fact, I invented it while writing
this paragraph. Still, you know, “old” is a _comparative_ term. I think
you would be _quite_ justified in addressing a chicken, just out of the
shell, as “old boy!” _when compared_ with another chicken that was only
half out!
[49] From “Eight or Nine Wise Words on Letter-Writing” (1888).