prices

[Elizabeth B. Naime]

On Mon, 19 Jun 2000, A.Str wrote:

> I heard in the BBC the following expression: "...prices might be cheaper..."

OOoh, a question for native speakers of English!  This I actually feel
competent to answer!

It grates on my ear.  I believe you are correct that the thing which has a
price can be cheaper or dearer, but not the price itself.  That's still my
own interpretation, and it's still the textbook answer.

However, I have begun to hear this phrase and others like it, so I think
from a descriptive standpoint it may be coming into the language, just as
the distinction between fewer and less is being lost.  I don't have to
like it to perceive that many native speakers *are* using it.

Clear as mud?

Elizabeth Naime
<elspeth at ukans.edu>

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