I’ve spoken before about how the forms of address that different characters in different contexts employ can tell us a great deal about a number of other issues. This week on the water A man who addresses another as “Colonel Jones” is of course identifying his military rank, but also his respect and the fact that he is, in all probability, subordinate in status to the colonel. Another who calls a woman, “darling,”* is probably suggesting a certain level of intimacy, a relationship that could...