By Jove!

[GeneD]

I think fmuck is on a par with Psmith as a language guide.

Thanks for mentioning Psmith, Tdol. I always wondered why Wodehouse gave such a terrible-sounding name to the character, and thanks to you I have found out that the initial 'p' in 'Psmith' is mute!

[Charlie Bernstein]

Thanks for mentioning Psmith, Tdol. I always wondered why Wodehouse gave such a terrible-sounding name to the character, and thanks to you I have found out that the initial 'p' in 'Psmith' is mute!

Yes. Like psychic, psychotic, and psilocybin.

The p is silent in words that begin with ps. (Or pn.) Most of us blame the Greeks.

Wodehouse was just being cute.