Lost causes in grammar

In 1951, when I was in the first grade, a paperback book called Grammar at Work was published. It was the work of Joseph Bellafiore, principal of Lafayette High School in New York City. I was recently handed a copy of this book, on the cover of which is written in ink, "Desk Copy - H.R. 18." The book remains in remarkably good shape, so apparently it was not used that much.

Leafing through it, I was drawn to a section called "Errors to avoid in diction or choice of words." There are 78 of these errors to avoid, and most of them still make sense all these years later. The first one, for example, advises not to say accept when you mean except. The last one discourages the use of youse. Good advice, I'd say.

Yet several of these 78 points remind me of how true are this book's very first words, "a living language." Living things change. And the English language has changed since 1951.

Take for instance the use of the word some as an adjective meaning excellent. Bellafiore forbids this. Yet the very next year, 1952, Charlotte's Web was published. And we all remember the words Charlotte spun on her web to save her friend, Wilbur the pig, from the dinner table: "Some pig." This book was written by E.B. White, one of the authors of The Elements of Style, a much more important book than Grammar at Work on the subject of proper English usage. The battle to save some from being used as an adjective in this way
was lost right there.

Some other lost causes that Bellafiore fought for include these:

Do not say aggravate as a synonym for irritate. Yes, aggravate means "to make worse," but meanings change over time, and now most people think it means to irritate, only more so.

Do not use can when you are asking for permission. Kids of my generation grew up playing the game "Mother May I?", the point of which seemed to be to teach us that may was the proper word to use when asking for permission. It didn't work. I suspect that most of the English teachers I had said can rather than may, at least outside the classroom.

Do not say healthy when you mean healthful. Children are healthy because they eat healthful foods and get healthful exercise. But when is the last time you heard anyone use the word healthful?

Do not use mad when you mean angry. Mad may actually mean insane, but most of us get a little insane when we get angry. At any rate most people have been saying mad to mean angry for a long time. That ship has sailed.

Use the word nice to mean "refined or carefully discriminating," not "pleasant or well-behaved." What? I can't remember a time when nice didn't mean pleasant or well-behaved.

Say plan to, not plan on. Sure. I plan on doing just that.