This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. The term has turned into “Not to bigga..” slurring that hurts my ears. But as we noted in 2007, the unnecessary “of” in “not that big of a deal” doesn’t seem to add any particular emphasis or color (though it might add informality). var pbMobileLrSlots = [ { bidder: 'triplelift', params: { inventoryCode: 'Cambridge_SR' }}, informal. iasLog("criterion : sfr = cdo_dict_english"); },{ Q: It sounds wrong to me, but just about everybody inserts an unnecessary “of” in an expression like “It’s not that big of a deal.” How big a deal is this? “Not that big a deal” could conceivably refer to a small business transaction, whereas “not that big of a deal” is more figurative and may reflect the speaker’s feeling about that same transaction. _gid Registers a unique ID that is used to generate statistical data on how the visitor uses the website. var mapping_topslot_b = googletag.sizeMapping().addSize([746, 0], [[728, 90]]).addSize([0, 0], []).build(); { bidder: 'onemobile', params: { dcn: '8a969411017171829a5c82bb4deb000b', pos: 'cdo_leftslot_160x600' }}, { bidder: 'ix', params: { siteId: '195451', size: [320, 50] }}, { bidder: 'appnexus', params: { placementId: '11654208' }}, My girlfriend has been dating a loser of a boyfriend. { bidder: 'appnexus', params: { placementId: '11653860' }}, 2. { bidder: 'appnexus', params: { placementId: '11654156' }}, { bidder: 'appnexus', params: { placementId: '11654156' }}, params: { { bidder: 'ix', params: { siteId: '195464', size: [160, 600] }}, Please ‘Like’ this post using the tabs on the left <===, or share it with someone else who you think might find it useful. Back then, we were pretty dismissive of the usage, which some linguists have called the “big of” syndrome. "loggedIn": false }, dfpSlots['leftslot'] = googletag.defineSlot('/2863368/leftslot', [[120, 600], [160, 600]], 'ad_leftslot').defineSizeMapping(mapping_leftslot).setTargeting('sri', '0').setTargeting('vp', 'top').setTargeting('hp', 'left').setTargeting('ad_group', Adomik.randomAdGroup()).addService(googletag.pubads()); pbjs.setConfig(pbjsCfg); iasLog("exclusion label : resp"); { bidder: 'triplelift', params: { inventoryCode: 'Cambridge_Billboard' }}, },{ { bidder: 'appnexus', params: { placementId: '11654157' }}, We are a Hong Kong based Language School offering quality language training courses for both local and international students. { bidder: 'sovrn', params: { tagid: '346698' }}, name: "identityLink", {code: 'ad_topslot_a', pubstack: { adUnitName: 'cdo_topslot', adUnitPath: '/2863368/topslot' }, mediaTypes: { banner: { sizes: [[300, 50], [320, 50], [320, 100]] } }, { bidder: 'ix', params: { siteId: '195466', size: [728, 90] }}, “This current idiom,” M-W says, “is just one of a group of idioms that are characterized by the presence of of a as the link between a noun and some sort of preceding qualifier.”. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. if(success && (tcData.eventStatus === 'useractioncomplete' || tcData.eventStatus === 'tcloaded')) { 'increment': 0.5, I'm happy to help out.". name: "pbjs-unifiedid", type: "html5", Do For our overseas students, we offer a Student Visa Service and can arrange safe, comfortable and affordable accommodation while you study with us here in Hong Kong.