Sir, – Like your correspondent, Fr Thos Woods (January 2nd), I for long believed that the word “odious” was pronounced “ojus” and of local dialect origin. That was until, while researching the life of Percy French, artist, songwriter and entertainer, I read of his five years as an “inspector of drains” in Cavan in the years 1872-77.
French acquired a then newly fashionable tricycle to help him move around the Cavan farmers who were applying for those great panaceas – government grants. His tricycle was a nine days’ wonder at the time and he recorded that one local character described it as an “odious yoke”. – Yours, etc,