I remember first hearing it in a tractor advertisement where they showed putting the tractors under a lot of testing and said “we try to break it on purpose so you don’t break it on accident.”
In that sense I can understand doing that as a turn of a phrase. But then I started hearing “on accident” in a lot of places when not part of some word play. I’ve always wondered if it was something people said before that advertisement or that people started using it because of that ad.
People like it being shaped like “on purpose”. I’m sure soon enough “on accident” will be normal and it’ll be really old fashioned to complain about the phrase
… or “that big a problem” and not “that big of a problem”. Why the spurious ‘of’?
But, do we want to get into this?
start-up vs startup vs start up, shut-down vs shutdown vs shut down - one’s a deverbal noun, ones an adjective, one’s a phrasal verb. You will be judged by your usage.
impacts vs impact ; if some guy was Rittenhousing in your area, the impacts would be small (5.56mm) but the impact would be massive. Compare supports (trusses) with support (mental assistance for those coping with a Rittenhousing)
email vs emails ; because ‘mails’ (like ‘cattles’ or ‘deers’) was never correct if you passed elementary school and you look like an idiot.
incase, aswell ; no millennial left behind.
The examples of people “removing all doubt” (Maurice Switzer) are everywhere.
“It happened by accident” not “It happened on accident”.
On accident is up there with positive anymore for some of the worst new grammatical takes.
I remember first hearing it in a tractor advertisement where they showed putting the tractors under a lot of testing and said “we try to break it on purpose so you don’t break it on accident.”
In that sense I can understand doing that as a turn of a phrase. But then I started hearing “on accident” in a lot of places when not part of some word play. I’ve always wondered if it was something people said before that advertisement or that people started using it because of that ad.
In accidental terms, it happened.
I think every time people say that it’s at accident.
People like it being shaped like “on purpose”. I’m sure soon enough “on accident” will be normal and it’ll be really old fashioned to complain about the phrase
Old fashioned or an inconsequential hot take? I have a different one for old fashioned.
It already is, given how often it’s used.
… or “that big a problem” and not “that big of a problem”. Why the spurious ‘of’?
But, do we want to get into this?
The examples of people “removing all doubt” (Maurice Switzer) are everywhere.