The insidious replacement of 'probably' by the americanism 'likely'.

[sidebirds]

Intolerable!

Two more intolerable (and nonsensical) americanisms that are like having teeth pulled whether in the USA or here:

step foot

light on fire

Not to mention what seems to be a British corruption of a British term that was originally poor into the bargain:

off [someone's] own back (instead of bat)

I need a drink... 🥃 🤯

I'm with you, OP.

Fairyvocals · 08/07/2025 21:38
“The prime minister will likely go to Buckingham Palace Friday to meet the king”.

I would associate this with the UK more than the US.

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That's incorrect - totally American. British version would be:

The Prime Minister is likely [OR is quite likely] to go to Buckingham Palace on Friday to meet the King.

Well, I'm Canadian, and we use some of these appalling and intolerable usages.

There is so much fucking intolerance in this country for any evolution of language.

@Pinkissmart , we don't tolerate foul language either.

There’s so much fucking intolerance in this country for anything American. It’s tiresome.

Well, you know, it's exhausting being continually judged because of my accent.
And threads like this are allowed to run, with new ones started regularly.
Exhausting.

@Pinkissmart , it's in Pedants' Corner. If pedantry isn't your thing, scroll by.

Ahhhh yes I hate this! I thought it was just me. My job {dream job} includes reading and correcting copy and I must see “We will likely be able to do this” or similar 5 times a week. No. Just no.

@PlasticAcrobat using likely instead of probable – both adjectives – is fine, but the OP (and I) are talking about using likely as an adverb instead of probably.

See Collins (second meaning, point 8) www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/likely

I have no problem with American English in an American context. I’ve worked in it for almost 30 years. But there are things that jar when they appear in British publications. We do get used to them eventually, though.

Pick out and swap out really annoy me. The out is superfluous.

But my biggest peeve with TV/Radio presenters is still the way they say Sikth instead of Sixth. It drives me mad.

"Sikth instead of Sixth" 🤢 - couldn't agree more. Slipping standards like this exonerated, in fact subliminally encouraged, by the mass media are indicative of a wider decline.

All these instances are anything but evolution of language; they are variously regressive, illiterate, & nonsensical.

For example, one that hasn't been mentioned on this thread: decimate. A specific term meaning to reduce by a tenth that is now almost exclusively employed as a synonym for annihilate, obliterate, etc. I suppose this offence against the English language is simply "evolution of language", though? 🙄 A unique term corrupted & lost through the action of illiterates. (Don't get me started on 'ec cetera' 😡).

“I guess” instead of “I think”. I’ve been using the former myself, and I caught myself the other day!

"I guess” instead of “I think”. I’ve been using the former myself, and I caught myself the other day!"

100% 🎯 Part of a decades-long undercurrent in which americanisms are subliminally deemed 'modern' at the expense (wait - I think I grew up saying 'expence', am I also being sucked into this hellhole? RSVP) of perfectly sound English synonyms. (The American terms fine when spoken by Americans, of course - naturally as long as not along the lines of nonsensical monstrosities such as the aforementioned 'step foot', et al..).

Yes, same here.

There is definitely a difference between probably and mostly in the context of that sentence. But, I’ve had a glass of wine and can't remember the original question in the OP!

To me, "mostly" makes sense if he's an arsehole most of the time, or in most situations, but not always.

“The prime minister will likely go to Buckingham Palace Friday to meet the king”.

As PPs have said, this is not standard US English and not common usage in the US. "The PM is likely to go..." would be more likely (sorry) in a news broadcast than "the PM will probably go", but I see that as part of a general trend that language in the mainstream media in the USA right now is slightly more formal than the equivalent in the UK.

“I guess” instead of “I think”. "I guess" and "I think" have different meanings in US English. I agree that "I guess" is an Americanism, but the closest UK equivalent is probably "I suppose" (or maybe regionally "I reckon" or "I dare say", which are also used in the US.) "I guess" usually suggests a reluctance or hesitancy, whereas "I think" is declarative and decisive.

would you like some quotations from the works of that renowned American, William Shakespeare? ”This was the first, and likely is the last, / That Rome shall end, for law is quite extinct.”. Titus Andronicus, but there are plenty of other examples.

What's wrong with 'likely'? It means the same thing and is easier to say. Do you object to 'likelihood' instead of 'probability' too?

Yes, I know that. I was talking about the adverbial use and why it might sound clunky to some.

(The American terms fine when spoken by Americans, of course - naturally as long as not along the lines of nonsensical monstrosities such as the aforementioned 'step foot', et al..).
Incorrect use of et al.

@LillyPJ , What's wrong with 'likely'? It means the same thing and is easier to say.
It doesn't in this context.
Do you object to 'likelihood' instead of 'probability' too?
Why would we?

Incorrect use of et al.

Why? Doesn't it just mean 'and others'?

Just because it is normally associated with citations, doesn't mean it can't be used more generally as a shorthand.