BE "due to the fact that" & No, no! Not again!

Tue Sep 23 17:02:01 UTC 2008

On Sep 23, 2008, at 9:51 AM, Wilson Gray wrote:

> BE _due to the fact that_ = "because"
>
> ... This phrase is *extremely* common in the 'hood and has been for as
> long as I've been able to understand English. *Everybody* - from
> street thugs to college professors - uses it! But, I'm not sure that
> I've heard any white person use it.
>
> So, my trivial question is:
>
> Do white folks also use this?

oh yes.  MWDEU has an entry on it, with an attestation from 1897.  at
some point, usage commentators began condemning it as "wordy", but
MWDEU points out that it has its uses.

arnold

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