Quote ="MDF"Actually, I blame the Microsoft spell-checker for making us [ithink[/i that only "s" is correct in UK English. Both forms, as I mentioned above, are perfectly good, and the Oxford Dictionary leans towards the "z". This is from someone whose typing fingers would not allow him to Americanise (or Americanize) words such as "colour"!'"
It goes back to schooldays too, to be fair. Certainly back in the fifties and sixties when I was at school a `z` in the wrong place would have brought a rap over the knuckles! Neither did this current split between books and newspapers exist: all used `s`.
I do wonder about the Oxford dictionary. Is it American owned these days? I think there must be a conspiracy
. Certainly back in the fifties/sixties I don`t think any English dictionary would have condoned the `z`.