That's Problematic, Part 2
Is that a hill I see in the distance, one perhaps good for dying on?
Great news everyone! In this second installment of a(n at present only theoretically) long-running series, I have found a hill to die on.12 Today, we’re returning to the Glossary of Problematic Words and Phrases. Here’s what CMOS says in the entry for “all right”:
Two words. Avoid alright, which has long been regarded as nonstandard.
I refuse to avoid this. Do you hear me, CMOS? I. WILL. NOT. AVOID. THIS.3 I believe deep in my heart that “alright” is a real boy word.
Clearly, “alright” should be the third in a neat little English trio:
All ready: everything or everyone is prepared
Already: something has happened in the past
All together: everything or everyone is together
Altogether: completely
All right: everything or everyone is correct
Alright: NOT A WORD, YOU RUBES!!!!!!! USE “ALL RIGHT” FOR SOME REASON THAT IS A SECRET!
Etymonline defines “alright” as a “frequent spelling of all right, attested in print by 1884.” The cited text from 1884 also describes “alright” as “often seen”. How often and for how long does “alright” have to be spelled that way for it to be a “word”? Frequently and 240 years are… not sufficient?
Absolutely no one asked me, but I think it is more than sufficient, and I will use “alright” CONTINUOUSLY and WITHOUT SHAME!
Are you a die-hard “all right” fan? Do you have English hills you would die on? Are there other all/al pairs I forgot about? Tell me all about it in the comments.
Yes, here we have a sentence that ends with a preposition. CMOS addresses this in paragraph 5.180. It may be quite some time before we get there in a main post, so here’s a taste. The rule against ending sentences with prepositions is “an unnecessary and pedantic restriction. And it is wrong.” Ugh, I love to see it.
I really wanted to add the second footnote at the end of the first sentence of the first footnote because it’s funny to me that that sentence does not end in a preposition. But substack has its limits, apparently including whimsical footnotery.
Notable exception: if you hire me to edit something that needs to stick to Chicago style, I will absolutely avoid this. I’ll just be secretly mad about it. Not at you though. None of this is your fault.