Just this afternoon I was talking to some governors, solicitors, postmasters, comptrollers, quartermasters, paymasters and surgeons general I know, and they all agreed with you.
May I say here, totally off-topic, how irritated I am by the practice of directly addressing a US Attorney General as “General”? It seems that most television interviewers do that–it’s part of the general (heh) “title excess” that accompanies the need to book guests. Flattering them by using the fanciest title you think you can get away with, is considered crucial in today’s cable/network news environment.
(Anyone remember when even Presidents were studiously referred to as “Mr. _____” in most self-respecting venues? That era ended when booking Important People became difficult—even people who had titles years ago and for even the shortest of times, get called “Secretary” or “Congresswoman” or “Ambassador” these days.)
I suppose it’s the case that most people legitimately addressed as General are actually “general officers,” and there is a rough analogy to be found there with the “Attorney General” usage. But only a rough one.
Thread-topic-wise: It will be very sad if I rip a vocal cord by screaming at the television, next time someone interviews “General Garland.”
And just yesterday, in the nearby thread about Interstate highways, I mentioned the several Interstates I-380 and Interstates I-580 around the country.
“The problem with defending the purity of the English language is that English is about as pure as a cribhouse whore. We don’t just borrow words; on occasion, English has pursued other languages down alleyways to beat them unconscious and riffle their pockets for new vocabulary.” — James Nicoll