Re: Advocate for

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From	occam <occam@nowhere.nix>
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Subject	Re: Advocate for
Date	Fri, 15 May 2026 12:32:10 +0200
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Cross-posted to 2 groups.

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On 15/05/2026 05:02, Steve Hayes wrote:
> On Thu, 14 May 2026 17:51:27 +0200, occam <occam@nowhere.nix> wrote:
> 
>> On 14/05/2026 12:54, Hibou wrote:
>>> Le 14/05/2026 à 10:27, occam a écrit :
>>>> On 14/05/2026 04:35, Steve Hayes wrote:
>>>>>
>>>>> I've been seeing "asvocate for" with increasing frequency recently.
>>>>>
>>>>> Almost invariably, in editing, I delete the "for", regarding it as an
>>>>> instance of preposition bloat.
>>>>>
>>>>> But it's becoming so common that I'm wondering if it is a new
>>>>> standard, like "proven" instead of "proved".
>>>>>
>>>>> Comments?
>>>
>>>
>>> <https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?
>>> content=advocate+this%2Cadvocate+for+this%3Aeng_gb%2Cadvocate+for+this%3Aeng_us&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en-GB&smoothing=3>
>>>
>>> In modern English, it's 'preposition bloat'.
>>>
>>>> I'm going to play the devil's advocate here for a moment. It seems to me
>>>> you can advocate 'against' something e.g. slavery, global warming,  as
>>>> well as 'for' something.  Do you have much dealings with the devil these
>>>>   days?
>>>
>>>
>>> My trusty old Collins defines 'to advocate' as "to support or recommend
>>> publicly; plead for or speak in favour of." It would seem, then, that
>>> one cannot advocate against something. One would have 'to oppose' it.
>>>
>>
>> That would be OK if 'to advocate' was the opposite of 'to oppose'.
>>
>> 'He advocated against the law for abortion' is an active thing - it
>> means you put a case against it by supporting (or recommending) it publicly
> 
> Is "advocate against" widespread usage?
> 
> I've not come across it in the wild, only in this thread.
> 
> 

'Advocate against' may not be widespread, but it's not unknown.

Google ngram:

<https://books.google.com/ngrams/graph?content=advocate+against%2Cadvocate+for&year_start=1800&year_end=2022&corpus=en&smoothing=3>

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Thread

Advocate for Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-14 04:35 +0200
  Re: Advocate for liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) - 2026-05-14 08:45 +0100
    Re: Advocate for Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-15 04:56 +0200
      Re: Advocate for liz@poppyrecords.invalid.invalid (Liz Tuddenham) - 2026-05-15 08:40 +0100
        Re: Advocate for Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-16 08:08 +0200
      Re: Advocate for richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Richard Tobin) - 2026-05-15 13:01 +0000
      Re: Advocate for The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> - 2026-05-15 15:54 -0400
    Re: Advocate for JNugent <JNugent73@mail.com> - 2026-05-16 14:56 +0100
  Re: Advocate for occam <occam@nowhere.nix> - 2026-05-14 11:27 +0200
    Re: Advocate for Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> - 2026-05-14 11:54 +0100
      Re: Advocate for Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> - 2026-05-14 12:00 +0100
        Re: Advocate for Pluted Pup <plutedpup@outlook.com> - 2026-05-15 00:02 -0700
      Re: Advocate for occam <occam@nowhere.nix> - 2026-05-14 17:51 +0200
        Re: Advocate for Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-15 05:02 +0200
          Re: Advocate for occam <occam@nowhere.nix> - 2026-05-15 12:32 +0200
        Re: Advocate for Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> - 2026-05-16 06:34 +0100
          Re: Advocate for Charles Hope <clh@candehope.me.uk> - 2026-05-16 10:00 +0000
            Re: Advocate for Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> - 2026-05-16 11:41 +0100
      Re: Advocate for Snidely <snidely.too@gmail.com> - 2026-05-14 12:02 -0700
        Re: Advocate for occam <occam@nowhere.nix> - 2026-05-15 12:40 +0200
          Re: Advocate for Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> - 2026-05-15 15:05 +0100
            Re: Advocate for Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-16 07:22 +0200
              Re: Advocate for Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> - 2026-05-16 06:55 +0100
                Re: Advocate for Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-16 13:39 +0200
          Re: Advocate for Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-16 07:18 +0200
    Re: Advocate for richard@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Richard Tobin) - 2026-05-14 19:06 +0000

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