'Oftentimes' is NOT a word!

As much as I like, or is that more accurately, don't mind Leif Shiras' commentary on Sky Sports I must say I find it extremely annoying when he uses the supposed word 'oftentimes'.

Tell me if I'm wrong but it appears to be an amalgamation of 2 words, often and sometimes. Now, I think often and sometimes are fairly different in their meanings; often being something that happens a lot more than the same thing occurring sometimes.

I don't look to Americans for guidance on how to spell or pronounce things (or even get the right word, ie. scallions vs spring onions, rotary vs roundabout, elevator vs lift, color vs colour, etc) and so this wouldn't normally wind me up but this word just seems to get to me.

Especially when no one ever corrects him Am I the only one who doesn't like bad grammar/speech/spelling? Probably!

graf_the_greatest wrote:Tell me if I'm wrong

OK. http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/oftentimes

People pay a lot for a moment like that on the internet.

hahaha DOH!

GtG... There is a whole new linguistic skill required to understand Ebonics.

Oftentimes people pay lots of money to see a man skewer a borogrove.

Since often is a synonym to oftentimes perhaps the commentator was just proving himself to be a superior jerk.

Twas bryllyg, and ye slythy toves
Did gyre and gymble in ye wabe:
All mimsy were ye borogoves;
And ye mome raths outgrabe.

I don't care, Oftentimes is STILL not a word. Oft-times maybe, but the full length use of the word definitely is not.

Please don't misunderestImate me, to quote another American intellectual!

Maybe Shiras grew up hearing his parents use the word, and inadvertently became accustomed to using it.
Although, as Shakespeare wrote, "... oftentimes excusing of a fault doth make the fault the worse by the excuse."

The US term I hate is "gotten"....

another one has to be a sports term called 'winningest'. I heard that on a US sports programme...what an ugly & incorrect word!

Well as they (Mark Twain actually) say...we're 2 great nations DIVIDED by a common language.