Miss, n. A title with which we brand unmarried women to indicate that they are in the market. Miss, Missis (Mrs.) and Mister (Mr.) are the three most distinctly disagreeable words in the language, in sound and sense....If we must have them, let us be consistent and give one to the unmarried man. I venture to suggest Mush, abbreviated to Mh.
—Ambrose Bierce, American journalist and writer, The Devil's Dictionary, 1911