Grammar Matters: Is “a lot” Kosher?

In my days as a newspaper copy editor, it was engrained into my head that “a lot” meant nothing. (Nothing, except a piece of ground, that is.) I, too, hounded writers and copy editors alike that this non-phrase wasn’t to be used in any circumstance. Except a quote … maybe. Unless a source was talking about the fresh piece of land they’d picked up, “a lot” was an evolved phrase that hadn’t quite made its way into the AP stylebook – the book to end all books. And if it didn’t exist there, it might have well not have existed at all.

But now that I do about 100 percent more blogging and 70 percent less editing than back then, my ideas are a’changing. Sure “a lot” might mean a plot of ground, but why does that mean we can’t still say/write it? Everyone knows what it means: several, many, in abundance, etc. After all, filling an entire lot with any single substance would be a large amount of it!

The blogosphere is also more forgiving than the college newspaper world. Mistakes can be changed, opinions given, and there’s no all-knowing book that regulates style. So why shouldn’t we blog with “a lot”?

The Evolution of English

If my history of the English language course taught me anything, it’s that words are always adjusting. Whether in pronunciation, spelling, or even meaning, generations have changed the way we speak. Just look at the Great Vowel Shift – before this gigantic movement, same was salm, feet was fate, wipe was weep, and boot was boat. (All un-technical, BTW, check out advanced pronunciations, complete with vowel emphasis and phonetic alphabet, for more info.)

Taking place amidst the invention of the printing press, the GVS can also explain some of English’s weird spellings. As widespread printing worked to further standardize spellings, pronunciation changes were still being made.

Back to the Infamous “Lot”

Though I still shy away from using “a lot” in print articles – apparently this is so engrained in my head it can’t be overcome (and it also seems too informal) – I’m no longer anti “a lot” for blogs. Just as pronunciation has evolved, so have the meanings of sayings. Why not celebrate a growing adjustment to an outdated phrase? Shouldn’t we be impressed, or at least fascinated, as to how our population worked together? A lot signifies a great achievement, and it’s time we stop shoving it under a rug.

Perhaps if I overheard a farmer saying he bought “a lot of lots,” I’d change my mind. But until that day comes, I’ll be celebrating a lot, a lot. Get used to it, AP book.

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