(Al)most (was: Rules against most?)

[Damien Hall]

Wilson wrote:

'It seems to me that "almost" is headed for the grave [...]'

In American English! No variety of BrE that I'm aware of uses _most_ for
'almost'.

The form of the medium in which 'most' for 'almost' is found in the _NYT_
may also be relevant. That is, the online version is often badly proofed
etc. in the rush to get it online. My wife, both a proofreader and an _NYT_
junkie, despairs of it.

(I know the debates about bracketing of the name of this Society / list;
for me, I bracket it [[American] [Dialect Society]], while also trying to
restrict my contributions to things that are relevant to [American
Dialect], in order not to go too far beyond the area of interest of most of
the postings!)

Damien

--
Damien Hall

University of York
Department of Language and Linguistic Science
Heslington
YORK
YO10 5DD
UK

Tel. (office) +44 (0)1904 432665
     (mobile) +44 (0)771 853 5634
Fax  +44 (0)1904 432673
http://www.york.ac.uk/res/aiseb/

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