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Post by Dave Miller on Dec 28, 2017 21:25:25 GMT
How does one decide what is acceptable? I suppose the simple answer is that "one" doesn't; rather, it takes the many to do so. New expressions arise all the time, but only some of them last. When something lasts long enough, or pervades thoroughly enough, it will be taken up by more than one generation. Perhaps when that happens, it has become a "standard" expression. By that, I mean something that will generally be recognised (though perhaps not chosen) by the majority of recipients - you could put it in a book and expect the reader to understand it. But where will the expression sit, with regard to register? Slang or normal, formal or impolite? I don't think there are rules on that; society as a whole somehow stirs the mix and separates out the different layers.
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