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Doing something "on accident"

Posted by Brian from Shawnee on March 08, 2007

In Reply to: Doing something "on accident" posted by James Briggs on March 08, 2007

: : Today (March 8, 2007) on an early morning NBC news show in the U.S., the commentator talked about an athlete saying he took one of his wife's drugs "on accident." The opposite being doing something "on purpose." My children used to say, "I did it on accident." I thought it was just a childism. Is "on accident" a real expression, commonly used?

: I'm only used to 'by accident'. I've never heard, or used, the 'on' version.

My kids said it that way, too. I guess their reasoning is that "on accident" must be the opposite of "on purpose".

Was the commentator a former athlete, or was it a direct quote from the athlete? Professional athletes are notorious for their casual grammar and colorful expressions.

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