Common sense, etiquette, and those being subjected to the terms seem to have sorted this out a long time ago. Further down in the Wikipedia entry (http://en.wik

Common sense, etiquette, and those being subjected to the terms seem to have sorted this out a long time ago. Further down in the Wikipedia entry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ms http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ms): The American Heritage Book of English Usage states that: "Using Ms. obviates the need for the guesswork involved in figuring out whether to address someone as Mrs. or Miss: you can’t go wrong with Ms. Whether the woman you are addressing is married or unmarried, has changed her name or not, Ms. is always correct." The Times (UK) states in its style guide that: "Ms is nowadays fully acceptable when a woman wants to be called thus, or when it is not known for certain if she is Mrs or Miss". The Guardian, which restricts its use of honorific titles to leading articles, states in its style guide: "use Ms for women... unless they have expressed a preference for Miss or Mrs". In business, "Ms." is considered to be the standard default title for women until or unless an individual makes another preference known. The default use of Ms. is championed by a number of etiquette writers, including Judith Martin (a.k.a. "Miss Manners"). Eliminating it completely solves a non-problem and takes preference away from those who would prefer either term.