In episode 116 of the Life Writers Vlog, we look inside my book, Eating an Elephant: Write Your Life One Bite at a Time, and dig into Bite 105, “More Than/Over.”
I reflect on how language evolves, highlighting a distinction my journalism professor, Eddie Bohner, drilled into my head: there’s no such thing as a new record and use more than for quantities and over for distances.
The move than/overrule originated with William Cullen Bryant in 1877 and remained in place until the Associated Press took a stand in 2014.
While Writing Your Life still follows Bryant’s more than/over rule, I do acknowledge the change.
What’s your take? Do you make a distinction, or has this subtlety flown under your radar? Tell us about it in the comments section below.
I think over is more my lane. Probably a Pittsburgh thing.
I’ve never considered this debate, but, now that I think about it,
I probably use over more often.
I agree with David. This is overwhelming, but most grammatical rules are more than I can fathom.
This is almost over-whelming, but I’ll get over it over time, putting some distance between myself and this usage conundrum. This is more or less what you want isnt it?
I’ve heard “the more the better” and “the more the merrier”, so perhaps I should choose more over over in sentences.
Well stated. I’m more-than-whelmed by your persuasive eloquence.