Don't let's

[William Salmon]

For me, an American, 'don't let's' is okay in special situations. For
example, when you want to make a point, but you want to soften the
delivery of that point. Perhaps to diffuse what could become a
situation. It isn't standard for me, but I wouldn't toss it out
completely.

Here's my favorite web example, apparently from an 1894 publication of
the English Dialect Society.

Don't let's go trolly-mogging about any longer.


> I'm American and I consider it ungrammatical. BB
>
> LanDi Liu wrote:
>> Are there Americans who consider this construction to be grammatical in
>> their dialect?  British/Australians who don't?
>>
>> I'm trying to verify whether "don't let's..." is more or less exclusively
>> British.
>>
>> Randy Alexander
>> Jilin City, China
>>
>>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



~Will Salmon

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org