"like that"

[David M. Robertson]

Peter Richardson wrote:

> Has anything appeared recently on the double conjunction "like that," e.g.
> "I feel like that they all ought to just leave me alone." It reminds me a
> bit of Spanish "de que," but it's clearly a horse of a different color.
>
> Peter R.

I remember occasionally hearing this usage for many years, but never hearng it
widely used. My theory is that the speaker is someone who would normally be
inclined to say "I feel like they should leave me alone." But he remembers
that his teachers or parents have told him to say "I feel that they should
leave me alone." Yet the "like" is hard to give up, so he uses both.

    Snake