In reply to:

the singular of ``alumnus'' is not ``alum''. This has been showing up all over the place, even in nominally well-edited journalistic papers. ``Alum'' is an aluminum salt.



I disagree. According to my dictionary (Random House Second Edition) and in my understanding, "alum" is an accepted informal abbreviation for "alumna" or "alumnus." Certainly it does not have a place in "journalistic papers," but its use is not restricted to references to an aluminum salt.

Stu
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