This fad affects the would-be cool & trendy East Coast urbanite (Downton Abbey is having much the same effect on the chattering classes on that side of the Great Ditch as West Wing had over here), without, so far, provoking the same reaction from the American equivalent of Disgusted of Tunbridge Wells as does the adoption of (alleged) Americanisms on BBC Radio 4 or in the pages of The Times.
I wouldn’t object to usage simply on the grounds of national origin, but I do sometimes worry a bit about the potential for confusion, embarrassment or even worse brought about by the mix-ups over the meaning of some common nouns.
I was only just getting in to Mark Buchanan’s book Nexus, about the science of networks & connectivity, when I was brought up short by a very strange question: What is the smallest number of roads you need to build to be reasonably sure that drivers can go between any two towns without ever leaving the pavement?
Over here we have laws against that kind of thing. Pavements are for pedestrians only.
But I expect Americans have similar laws against driving on the sidewalk
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