Wofgang Bechstein wrote:minute that he had said "I am a jelly donut"....the phrase itself, "Ich bin ein Berliner" was correct, both grammatically and in the idiomatic and intended meaning of "I am a citizen of Berlin". That there are also jelly donuts called "Berliners" (one of my favorite types of pastry) is neither here nor there. > Danken Sie wohl, Wolfgang. I had long suspected that was the case, but my four years of college German were too far in the past to let me dare contradict those who _seemed_ to know whereof they spoke. Perhaps they were too literal-minded to understand that a given word may have more that one meaning--a fact that makes puns possible. Patricia