Here is Bryan Garner's usage tip of the day:
living in sin. This phrase is on the wane. Even the Church of England has proclaimed that "living in sin" is a "most unhelpful" way of describing unmarried couples who cohabit. The Church estimates that four out of five couples live together before marrying. A major Church report in 1995 therefore concludes that the phrase should be dropped. Ruth Gledhill, "'Living in Sin' Is No Longer Sinful, Says Church Report," Times (London), 7 June 1995, at 1.
Does something become nonsinful if enough people do it? Doesn't that give sinners an incentive to disseminate their sin? Would murder become nonsinful if it became pervasive? The implications of this line of thought are staggering.
