Alright, is this all right?

[Caged Maiden]

Alright vs. All Right | WritersDigest.com

I had to look this up because I've been thinking about it a lot (alot?) HA! Anyway, here's the deal...

This:

Is this posting too long, or is it alright?

Looks good to me. As in, it appears the word "alright" means what we all think it means, that something is satisfactory.

But this:

The posting is all right.

Makes me think about accuracy, not satisfactory-ness (sue me, I'm done with thinking today, it's late).

So I know now that "alright" isn't a "word"...you know, like in the dictionary, but I've seen it plenty in books and several sources give a definition for it (a separate definition than "all right," which means something more like all correct)...so where does that leave us?

Do you use alright or all right? Is there a definitive reason for either? Does...you know...not being included in a dictionary keep a word from being okay in writing? I'm only asking because "snuck" didn't used to be a word, but it now IS. Along with ain't, and others.

I'm just interested in hearing your thoughts because up till now (ha! till is another one), I've been writing "alright" in the places where I mean satisfactory ("Are you alright?" The stranger looked alright after skidding to a stop ten feet form his motorcycle AND The play was alright, but Dan wouldn't pay to see it a second time) and it looks so much more appropriate than "all right."

Thoughts?

 

[Ireth]

I've never had a problem with "alright". I thunk it looks better than "all right" too.

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

I actually don't have a problem with alright either. However my word processor does since it's set to kiwi English. If it was set to Australian alright would be alright. In kiwi apparently it's all wrong!

Cheers, Greg.

 

[acapes]

I prefer 'all right' in both contexts only because that's the standard outside the US (I'm in Oz). I always used to see 'alright' in international submissions to whatever journal I was working on, whereas UK & AU subs used 'all right'.

I reckon 'alright' is going to be the new standard in most countries for 'well/okay' in a few decades.

 

[Svrtnsse]

In kiwi apparently it's all wrong!

Would that be alwrong, or alrong?

 

[skip.knox]

I tend to "all right" when the context is that all is right, with the person or the situation or whatever. One guideline I use for this is to insert a verb -- all is right -- to see if it still works, or else use 'good' for 'right' -- it's all good. In such cases, "all right" generally fits.

'Alright' feels proper when it's a synonym for okay -- "Alright," he said, "I'll do it." Or, "Are you alright?". In these kind of expressions, the object of the phrase is singular, so "all" feels out of place. This doesn't always work (nor does it work in all ways), but it can help on a copyedit check.

Then there's a great swampy middle [tm] where either feels right. Or, occasionally, neither does.

 

[Mythopoet]

I tend to "all right" when the context is that all is right, with the person or the situation or whatever. One guideline I use for this is to insert a verb -- all is right -- to see if it still works, or else use 'good' for 'right' -- it's all good. In such cases, "all right" generally fits.

'Alright' feels proper when it's a synonym for okay -- "Alright," he said, "I'll do it." Or, "Are you alright?". In these kind of expressions, the object of the phrase is singular, so "all" feels out of place. This doesn't always work (nor does it work in all ways), but it can help on a copyedit check.

Then there's a great swampy middle [tm] where either feels right. Or, occasionally, neither does.

Basically this. All right just doesn't fit most of the circumstances in which alright is usually used. They have distinct connotations. The language at this point clearly needs both.

 

[Incanus]

So far, I've stuck with the 'proper' way: all right. However, I think grammar rules can be suspended when it comes to dialogue, because people don't generally speak 'properly' all the time, and I try to reflect that in speech.

Therefore:

all right--in narrative, or sometimes dialogue.

alright--sometimes in dialogue, with the meaning as others have stated above.

My two cents.

 

[Trick]

The first reply in the link answers this question for me (at least, it affirms my chosen understanding and usage so I like it best ). All right is a phrase and alright is a word - they have different meanings but also overlap.

'All right' means exactly that, as in:

"Did I get this all right?" John pointed to the list of cars for sale.

"All but one, we don't have the Camry in blue yet." Mary said.

My interpretation is that All Right is the same as Everything Correct.

Whereas 'alright' is a synonym for OK or Okay or Acceptable and is more general and often singular.

"Do you feel alright?" John asked.

"No, I feel queasy." Mary said.

If Mary had said: "My stomach feels incorrect." That would be odd, because John was not asking if she felt correct; he was inquiring about the general status of her health not the state of correctness of all her body parts.

And here's a funny one, with the two different meanings being confused:

"Do you feel alright?" asked John.

Cathy thinks John said 'all right' and says, "Well, I've honestly never thought my foot size is correct, I think someone switched my feet with those of a tall boy baby when I was a newborn."

Just my thoughts on it, definitely not provable fact.

 

[spectre]

I use alright. I thought alright was a word. It isn't a word? Well s*** I'm suing Washington for violating No Child Left Behind laws because I didn't know that 'alright' wasn't a word. It's good with me. A teacher might trip, but then would the teacher trip? Maybe a creative writing teacher. Wait, is that teleologic all right? Is this going to end up in a political correctness conversation?