more / greater

[Charles C Doyle]

>From an annuncement of a conference called "Who Is College For?"

"Based upon current census data and enrollment trends, greater than 2.3 million more students will attend college by 2015."

I'm sure an early draft must have said "more than 2.3 million more students," but the repetition of "more" sounded inelegant, so "greater" was substituted for the first "more."  Now it sounds simply foolish.

I'm thankful, though, that the conference isn't titled "Whom Is College For?"--or "For Whom Is College?"

--Charlie

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