But his Portuguese listeners felt otherwise -- and gave the Education Minister short shrift.

It was belittling for the Minister to jokingly call small Portuguese men "pocket manuals'', they fumed.

Now Dr. Terceira -- himself of Portuguese descent -- has apologised for any offence. "I certainly did not mean to offend anyone. I'm sorry if I did.'' Dr. Terceira made the remark during a reception at Stonington campus for the All Star Games -- the schools' soccer tournament.

Yesterday he said the light-hearted comment had been made while he was being introduced to the teams. "I noticed how the players of Portuguese descent were much smaller than the others.'' Dr. Terceira, himself just 5ft 6in, said he pointed out how Portugal's famous soccer player Eusebio had also been short.

One of those offended by his quip was Mr. Michael Medeiros, vice chairman of the Portuguese Bermudian Association.

He wrote a letter to Dr. Terceira later, taking him to task over the remark.

"As you are aware Bermudians are currently working very hard to erase the negative racial stereotypes of the past and we hope that we can count on you to be a part of this process,'' wrote Mr. Medeiros.