Considering the intense discussion this relatively straightforward topic has provoked, the United States Congress' inability to reach consensus should not surprise anyone The first letters of the Greek alphabet are alpha, beta, gamma, delta. The first letters of the Hebrew alphabet are aleph, beit, gimel and dalet A pair of these should suffice. Possibilities abound a) alphas and betas b) betas (or bets) and gammas (the shortened version "bets," has a single syllable, just like "men") Those who need an explicitly analogy to the sex roles can imagine boys and girls c) beits and gimels d) gims (monosyllabic shortening of gimel) and dalets Those who need an explicitly analogy to the sex roles can imagine guys and dolls