Guestmudgeon Mark Hussey
likes it MORE...
GAD! I cringe whenever I hear
"Which one do you like better?" I've tried to explain to my family - I don't dare discuss my feeling about this with anyone
else- that my liking is successful for both the red one and the yellow one - same
quality [of liking], but I like the yellow one MORE - greater quantity [of
liking]! I hear this construct on TV and radio news (even NPR! - bite your tongue, Linda
Werthheimer)! No one disagrees that if we were talking about dislikes, "Which one do you dislike worse," sounds silly. Why don't more people see it my way?
They don't see it your way
because they are accustomed to hearing "like better" and so it
sounds completely acceptable to them. Technically, you are correct,
Mark. Much standard usage of today was at one time technically
incorrect. It can be frustrating, eh?
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