on accident

[Karl J. Krahnke]

For what it's worth ...

I just did a very informal survey of an ug linguistics class on their knowledge
of “on accident.”  In response to whether they had ever heard the expression
(presented to them in context), I got the following results, with associated
places of upbringing/education:

14 yes:  CO, MN, CA, AZ, NJ, TX, OR

13 no:  CO, NJ, NM, NV, IL

Almost all respondents were in the 19 to 22 age range.

I also asked about the "evaluation" of the phrase.  Most regarded it as some form
of substandard.

Karl Krahnke
Colorado State University