Sir, - I am saddened to watch the eclipse in all the media including your paper of a good, meaningful, expressive word: to damp (damped; damping). Increasingly I read and hear of rumours, triumphs and expectations being "dampened".
That's not the same thing; dampened clothes or a damp squib can put a damper on your spirits, but a damper doesn't dampen, it damps. Dampers are the felt-clad things that suppress the vibration of piano strings, and surely it is this metaphor of muffling or stifling that applies to hopes, rumours and so on, rather than any watery kind.
I feel an urge to join or launch a Society to Oppose the Impoverishment of Language. The Internet might be the place for this, and I would welcome help from other readers. I am particularly interested in metaphors arising from music, which besides damping includes knowing the score, playing it by ear, breaking new ground, coming to a full stop, and beating a (hasty) retreat. - Yours, etc.,
Director, Maoin Cheoil an Chlair, Clare Music Education Centre Ltd, College Road, Ennis, Co Clare.