Quick Question for Americans

[blamebrampton]

I have a usage question, fingers crossed there are a couple of people ambling by who can answer it.

I know that the use of 'I could care less' for 'I couldn't care less' is regional in the US (it's confusing to the rest of us, but once you know it exists and isn't an ironic turning of the phrase, it's easily understood, so no wuckers (as about 11 Australians still say).)

HOWEVER, I see an enormous amount of 'That's such a cliché ending,' but I don't know whether that's US standard, like aluminum*, or US regional like could care less.

Help!


* I'd say it was all Noah Webster's fault, which it pretty much is, but Humphry Davy started the whole palaver. I read an hilarious blog about ten years ago with a British scientist ranting about the fact that the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry's ruling in favour of aluminium was broadly ignored in the US. 'Fine!' he wrote. 'In that case, Sulphur! SULPHUR! Phuck you all!'

Comments

[blamebrampton.livejournal.com]

That's looking increasingly likely, may well be age/exposure to internet. I find rational punctuation is slowly wending its way into the hearts of many young Americans on the net, through the net's common use of it as a style. Cliché/d may well be working similarly, with the d coming in from people who have more focus on British, Aussie or Kiwi texts.