- the abuse of "decimate" is basic reverse-illiteracy, people thinking that "destroy" sounds too common. The "revised" sense is just begining to take off in British English.
- "couldn't care less" remains the norm in British English. I have encountered several people who, like myself, look on in incomprehension at the US usage of "could care less".
- the stereotype for the rest of the world is that American mass culture and the American psyche are incapable of understanding irony, so it is hardly surprising that American usage has completely undermined the very of the word itself. For instance, even barely-literate British speakers rarely use "irony" in the sense of "coincidence". (Related issue, British English has blurred the distinction between "irony" and "sarcasm", but the stereotypical American has even less knowledge of sarcasm so the debate is largely meanininless on your side of the Atlantic.) ;-)
- the abuse of "decimate" is basic reverse-illiteracy, people thinking that "destroy" sounds too common. The "revised" sense is just begining to take off in British English.
- "couldn't care less" remains the norm in British English. I have encountered several people who, like myself, look on in incomprehension at the US usage of "could care less".
- the stereotype for the rest of the world is that American mass culture and the American psyche are incapable of understanding irony, so it is hardly surprising that American usage has completely undermined the very of the word itself. For instance, even barely-literate British speakers rarely use "irony" in the sense of "coincidence". (Related issue, British English has blurred the distinction between "irony" and "sarcasm", but the stereotypical American has even less knowledge of sarcasm so the debate is largely meanininless on your side of the Atlantic.) ;-)