Telephone English

You will find certain words or phrases criticized here listed in dictionaries. Note carefully labels like dial. (dialectical), nonstandard, and obsolete before
assuming that the dictionary is endorsing them. The primary job of a dictionary is to track how people actually use language. Dictionaries differ among
themselves on how much guidance to usage they provide; but the goal of a usage guide like this is substantially different: to protect you against patterns
which are regarded by substantial numbers of well-educated people as nonstandard.