Blame the Poets . . .

Gse_multipart3571 "Another threat to good English came from the poets, who, in order to get their lines to scan, had squeezed and mangled good English words until they were barely recognizable."

— Jack Lynch, The Lexicographer's Dilemma: The Evolution of "proper" English, from Shakespeare to 'South Park'  (Walker & Company, 2009)

— sdh