Actually Dick, I saw in one of the latest QST magazines a letter from
someone involved in the ARRL back in 1918 or so, having written "73s", plus
reading old CQ magazines from 1950, I have seen the use of "handle". Not to
say I like it or use these that way.

Chuck WG2A

"Dick" wrote in message
...
It's all pretty simple when you look at the words. 73 is a CW
abbreviation for Best Regards. As no doubt hundreds before me have
pointed out, there is already an "s" at the end of regard. If you
write out 73's, it becomes Best Regards's. If you write that for a
while, instead of 73's, you will come to see how much it butchers the
English language. Regards is already a plural word. To add ('s) to
the end of regards is to pluralize a plural. My high school English
teacher would have a heart attack.

I don't know where this all started. If I look at my QSL cards from
the 50's I don't see anyone using 73's. I suspect it was born from
the "10-4 Good Buddy" crowd. It is a hopeless argument anyway, as a
good percentage of today's high school graduates can't read or write
properly. The rest of us just have to roll our eyes and accept the
inevitable.

73, Dick - W6CCD

On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 22:04:30 -0800, Bill Turner
wrote:

On Fri, 19 Dec 2003 01:02:27 GMT, AF Four Kilo
wrote:

No apostrophe in 73s, guy!

____________________

Huh-uh! Apostrophes are allowed to pluralize non-standard words,
including acronyms. Thus QSL's is ok as a plural and so is 73's.