OT: NZ use of "down to"

[Joel S. Berson]

At 5/4/2012 02:04 PM, Amy West wrote:
>On 5/4/12 1:37 PM, Amy West wrote:
>>While I'm pestering the list. . .
>>
>>In a New Zealand news article this use of "down to" struck me as
>>interesting:
>>
>>Elizabeth Hopper said it was down to her late husband Keith Hopper
>>that the Bible was found.
>>
>>http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10803551
>>
>>While Woo State has the 2 extant vols of HDAS, they don't have a New
>>Zealand dicty that I can check.
>>
>>---Amy West
>But they do have the OED, which I thought of checking once I got home,
>and there it is, sense 28b of down, adv.: "to be attributable to."
>
>Sigh. Standard British English use, evidently.
>
>Sorry: I'll check before I mail in the future.

And discussed not too long ago on ADS-L?  But I would forgive Amy for
not thinking that Kiwis might speak Standard British English.

Joel

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