Hold the fort

[andrewg927]

Piscean looked at one of the largest databases of contemporary American language. That's all. He didn't even try to lay down the law- he merely observed that some American users did not feel that the term could not be used without down, and gave his source. That's debate and discussion.

As a speaker of American English, I rarely weigh in on whether something is accurate in British English. If you say something is wrong in British English, I will take your word at face value. I would not go out and cite the Corpus of Contemporary British English to prove that either you are in the minority or worse you are wrong in the language that you are clearly more familiar with than I am. PS's post just did not appear to be as much of a solicitation for more discussion as it is a rebuke of what PD said earlier.

 

[Tdol]

I generally keep my ideas about the intricacies of American usage to myself. I didn't really see it as a rebuke, and am sorry if it was taken that way.

 

[andrewg927]

If only PS could keep it to himself...

 

[Skrej]

Here, as an American, I offer another corpus of American usage.

I'm actually surprised how much less the 'down' version is used. I guess I was wrong when I suggested they're equally common, but that's still not going to stop me from using either version as I see fit.

If that offends anybody, tough. If it gets a thousand likes, that still won't buy my lunch.

I suspect Bassim thoroughly regrets posting his question at this point, but it seems like the actual grammatical issue has been resolved (if there actually ever was one).

Perhaps it's a good time to close the thread, lest anyone become more marginalized.

Edit: Link should be working

 

[andrewg927]

Your link doesn't work by the way. I think we have all exhausted the conversation but let's keep the thread open just in case someone wants to say something about the grammar question.

 

[Phaedrus]

When you post something that completely contradicts with something someone said earlier and you receive a lot of likes for it, it certainly makes the other person feels ostracized.

Thank you, Andrew, for your kind and sensitive remarks. What you describe above applies to my experience in a large number of threads at this forum, including the thread in which I participated immediately before this one, where I mentioned "going full bore" as a good alternative to the highly awkward-sounding "living at full blast," about which the questioner had asked. Only the questioner liked the post.

I happen to know that "going full bore" is an excellent way of putting what the learner was trying to say, but any learner reading that thread would be led to just the opposite view. The following post said simply, "That doesn't work in BE," and was liked by a whole pack of moderators. Later, I proved my point by quoting the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). That post received zero likes, not even one from the questioner.

I wasn't in the best of spirits after that thread, but decided to continue participating here regardless. As I was on the way out the door (leaving for work) yesterday morning, I quickly glanced at the question queue, and saw this question from Bassim, which hadn't yet been responded to. I knew instantly the point that I would make, regarding the addition of "down." I just needed to verify that Bassim hadn't just omitted it in the title.

Perhaps it's a good time to close the thread, least anyone become more marginalized.

I think you meant to say "lest," Skrej. Obviously, I was overconfident about my command of American English idiom in this particular instance. I was wrong, and this has been totally embarrassing. This thread ruined my day yesterday, quite frankly. I would have never thought to check COCA or any other reference on this question -- I have a whole library of grammar books, plus access to the OED. My experience alone seemed abundantly conclusive. Oh, well!

On the bright side, this has given me a good story to tell.

I don't intend to stop posting here as a result of this. But I would like to move on. Now that you know my philosophy about the liking feature, which applies not only here but on Facebook and YouTube and wherever it is used (at least you don't have a thumbs-down feature!), please forget about it. Don't give me special treatment. I shall simply try to develop thicker skin.

Yes, I just used "shall."

 

[Phaedrus]

What a wonderfully warm comment, Piscean.

 

[emsr2d2]

OK, enough. Despite the previous comment that the thread should be left open in case there are any more comments on the grammar question, I am calling a halt to this now.

Apologies to Bassim for what happened to your thread. I hope you found the responses which did refer to your question helpful.

 

[Tdol]

I'm actually surprised how much less the 'down' version is used.

Corpora can throw up some surprising data.