Originally posted by KewpieI still can't bring myself to use the word "snuck". How it sneaked into the English dictionary without my knowledge is still a mystery to me.
As my research turned up, altogether and already have become accepted English, although they don't mean (as merged words) quite the same thing as they did when they were separated words. But from the same source, alright is not yet accepted English and should not be used in the written form. Alright always looks wrong to me anyway.
We seem to have snuck in although and always without anyone noticing ...
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"From its earliest appearance in print in the late 19th century as a dialectal and probably uneducated form, the past and past participle snuck has risen to the status of standard and to approximate equality with sneaked. It is most common in the United States and Canada but has also been spotted in British and Australian English."
They might not have allowed it at your school, but I think it's acceptable nowadays. I like it, it's so much more expressive than sneaked. 🙂
Originally posted by HandyAndyThere should be no such thing as the "American Heritage Dictionary".
Note the following from the American Heritage Dictionary online:
The distinction in meaning between healthy (possessing good health) and healthful (conducive to good health) was ascribed to the two terms only as late as the 1880s. This distinction, though tenaciously supported by some critics, is belied by citational evidence — healthy has been used to ...[text shortened]... ect in these contexts: a healthy climate, a healthful climate; a healthful diet, a healthy diet.
The English language should not be "tweaked" and changed by a new member of the English language club .
Originally posted by phil3000And the reason being?
There should be no such thing as the "American Heritage Dictionary".
The English language should not be "tweaked" and changed by a new member of the English language club .
English came from "tweaking" Anglo-Saxon (with a bit of Norman French)
are you against that? UK English is constantly being "tweaked" as can be
seen from the annual additions and deletions in the OED.
In NZ we have our own English, incorporating Maori words and some made up by Europeans. Languages constantly evolve and US English is no exception.
