Re: Advocate for

From	occam <occam@nowhere.nix>
Newsgroups	alt.usage.english, alt.english.usage
Subject	Re: Advocate for
Date	2026-05-14 17:51 +0200
Message-ID	<n6m9bvFe3c3U1@mid.individual.net> (permalink)
References	<usca0l5skr0jtv2kh3r8chg9glvgi2rtra@4ax.com> <n6lireFali9U1@mid.individual.net> <n6lnuuFba1eU1@mid.individual.net>

Cross-posted to 2 groups.

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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

'He opposed the law for abortion' could be a passive thing - you just
vote 'no'. End of story.

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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 Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-17 08:14 +0200
  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 Sam Plusnet <not@home.com> - 2026-05-16 20:27 +0100
            Re: Advocate for Hibou <vpaereru-unmonitored@yahoo.com.invalid> - 2026-05-17 06:23 +0100
            Re: Advocate for Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-17 08:15 +0200
      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
      Re: Advocate for Anton Shepelev <anton.txt@gmail.moc> - 2026-05-17 02:39 +0300
        Re: Advocate for Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-17 07:44 +0200
  Re: Advocate for Anton Shepelev <anton.txt@gmail.moc> - 2026-05-17 02:44 +0300
    Re: Advocate for Steve Hayes <hayesstw@telkomsa.net> - 2026-05-17 07:47 +0200

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