Re: "The reason...is because..."

David W wrote:

[ ... ]

Well, some things are just bad no matter how common the use. Even if
99% of people, including most reptauble authors, would write, "I
decided to lay low", it is still an abomination to be avoided.

Hoq about the following?

- If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

- Sure as eggs is eggs.

- I could care less (meaning "I don't care at all").

- It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing.

[ ... ]

How about I designate the following Lieblich's Laws for Questionable
Usages (LLQU):

1. Don't use it yourself, at least in writing.

Right - never.

2. Edit it out of others' prose when you can.

Yes. (I occasionally get to proof-read my employer's manuals and
help).

3. But don't make a fuss when you encounter it.

I certainly will when it's done to my _own_ sentence.

Doesn't that depend at least in part on who does it? Suppose you have
a boss who routinely says things like "Show it to he and I" and "This
is just between you and I." Do you correct your boss? (I had a boss
who said such things. I kept silent.) If so, in what tone of voice?
And what do you do if the boss changes your "The reason is that" to
his (it's usually a man) "The reason is because"? That's your
example, right? What do you do if it actually happens?

4. And for heaven's sake, don't ever criticize anyone to their face
for using it.

Well, I'll think about it.

With Iraq and al-Qaeda and global warming and piracy on the high seas
and the American economy about to crash and take much of the rest of
the world with it, we don't need to spend a lot of time picking fights
over grammar and usage. Rule 4, in two words, is "Cool it." Try it
-- you'll like it.

Now all we have to do is get "reason is because" designated a
Questionable Usage and we're home free.

Please do.

I'll confer with The Authorities in the morning.
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: "The reason...is because..."
    ... Sure as eggs is eggs. ... is just between you and I." Do you correct your boss? ... And what do you do if the boss changes your "The reason is that" to ... Questionable Usage and we're home free. ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: Monitoring Users Internet Usage? Is there a Way?
    ... If you have ISA installed and ISA Logging, you can check the Logs for ... Warn the boss though to check his legal status re "Spying" on the user. ... > This user had 6 hours of Internet Usage in a Day ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.server.sbs)
  • Head charang
    ... My late father used this curious expression as a semi-contemptuous word for ... the boss of some organisation. ... Its usage would be on a par with "The Great ...
    (alt.usage.english)
  • Re: group of questions
    ... Meaning? ... Usage? ... or exemplar which everyone should imitate or learn from, ... and courteous to say even to your boss at work. ...
    (sci.lang.japan)
  • Re: "The Virginian"
    ... He didn't want his BOSS killed; he said specifically he didn't care what ... Matt cheated on Miss Kitty? ...
    (rec.arts.tv)