Comments on: Unbeknown or Unbeknownst?

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 21:55:15 +0000

Just realised I wrote ‘among us Brits’ instead of amongst – see what the internet and US TV has done to me?! Whatever next?

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 09 Feb 2018 21:53:06 +0000

I’ve been speaking British English all my life and never ever heard ‘unbeknown’. My PC has duly underlined it with a red squiggle as I wrote it just now. Whereas ‘unbeknownst’ is ubiquitous among us Brits (and not underlined in red squiggle). I would have thought that US English would prefer ‘unbeknown’ as it is so fond of dropping the ‘st’ from the end of our lovely British words like ‘whilst’ ‘amongst’ and ‘amidst’! haha

By: Chendaddy

Chendaddy — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 06:02:19 +0000

It amazes me that grammar always sparks such heated (and yet, for obvious reasons, grammatically correct) debate across the Internet. I grew up in the states and always used “unbeknownst,” so I came knocking here when one of our Chinese translators used “unbeknown.” She did her university studies in the U.S., but the English taught in China academically is usually the British variety.

My only grammatical contribution to this discussion is to caution certain people whose examples using “unbeknown” actually should have just used “unknown.”

By: George

George — Wed, 10 Feb 2016 23:54:00 +0000

Excellent and invaluable. Since I find unbeknownST to be somewhat ostentatious, I’ll feel much better knowing I can safely use unbeknown, especially as there seems to be no suitable replacement for either variable.

By: Julie

Julie — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 06:19:14 +0000

I have been reading American novels of late and have come across words that I never heard of! Unbeknownst is one such word!

By: Doug

Doug — Sun, 19 Apr 2015 11:58:01 +0000

Of course, vulgar was used in a different sense in 1848.

Characteristic of or belonging to ordinary people.

By: Ian Murray

Ian Murray — Fri, 14 Nov 2014 09:18:27 +0000

speaker of british English (and proud of it, man) and have always used unbeknownst.

By: Dunetraveller

Dunetraveller — Thu, 27 Mar 2014 01:53:51 +0000

The -st version may be a “vulgar” formation which simply means people took matters into their own hands and made a new form of a word, it does NOT say, nor does it follow, it is an Americanism. Doesn’t really matter where it started since it obviously made it to the other side of the Atlantic. Take you pick and watch the grammar since one form is only an adverb.

By: shellyscorner

shellyscorner — Mon, 18 Nov 2013 19:47:14 +0000

@bossrat
And who would have EVER thought that AIN’T would make it into the dictionary! 30+(a couple of years) ago when I was still in high school, we actually used to argue about it. I used to argue that it would PERHAPS become acceptable to use “ain’t”, but I DID NOT believe that it would EVER be put in the dictionary! Guess we know who has pie on their face now! (I would have preferred Coconut Cream Pie over Lemon Meringue Pie though!)

By: bossrat

bossrat — Sat, 15 Jun 2013 15:46:39 +0000

'Unbeknownst' is another made up U.S. word that has hatched out of the host and is taking over. It is a Frankenstein's monster of a word, with no basis in grammar. Even the U.S. dictionary.com says this: unbeknownst 1848, vulgar formation from unbeknown (1636). No clear reason for the -st, but since 19c. this has become the dominant form. You wait, with the current level of blind ignorance, somethink, nothink and everythink etc. will soon gain their places in the dictionary.