Joe Pfeiffer wrote:
Renaud (Ron) OLGIATI <renaud@olgiati-in-paraguay.org> writes:On Fri, 10 Jul 2015 11:15:17 -0400 The Wanderer <wanderer@fastmail.fm> wrote:If you substitute in "madams" for "mesdames" (since, AFAIK, "mesdames" is just the French equivalent of the same word), it makes more sense.remember that "madam" is usually apposite for the manageress of a brothel...Depends on context. "Dear Sirs/Madams:" no more implies that the women are brothel managers than it does the men are knights.
Or, as is very common in political settings: "Madam Chairperson" or, oddly, "Madam Chairman" Miles -- In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is. .... Yogi Berra