couldn't of

couldn't of
   " 'Couldn't of got it without you, Pops/ Parker said" (New Yorker). As a shortened form of "couldn't have," couldrit of does unquestionably avoid the clumsy double contraction couldntve, a form not often seen in print since J. D. Salinger stopped writing. However, I would submit that that does not make it satisfactory. Using the preposition of as a surrogate for ve seems to me simply to be swapping an ungainly form for an illiterate one. If couldnYve is too painful to use, why not simply write couldnt have and allow the readers imagination to supply the appropriate inflection?

Dictionary of troublesome word. . 2013.

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  • couldn’t of —   ‘Couldn’t of got it without you, Pops,’ Parker said.. . (New Yorker). As a shortened form of couldn’t have, couldn’t of does unquestionably avoid the clumsy double contraction couldn’t’ve, a form not often seen in print since J. D. Salinger… …   Bryson’s dictionary for writers and editors

  • couldn't — by 1670s, contraction of COULD (Cf. could) + NOT (Cf. not) …   Etymology dictionary

  • couldn't — (could not) v. used to express the fact that one is unable or unwilling to do something; used to express the impossibility of an occurrence …   English contemporary dictionary

  • couldn't — ► CONTRACTION ▪ could not …   English terms dictionary

  • couldn't — [kood′ nt] contraction could not …   English World dictionary

  • COULDN'T — contr. could not. * * * /ˈkʊdn̩t/ used as a contraction of could not I tried but I couldn t do it. couldn t care less see ↑care, 2 …   Useful english dictionary

  • couldn't — [[t]k ʊd(ə)nt[/t]] Couldn t is the usual spoken form of could not …   English dictionary

  • couldn't — [ˈkʊd(ə)nt] short form the usual way of saying or writing ‘could not . This is not often used in formal writing I couldn t go to her party.[/ex] …   Dictionary for writing and speaking English

  • Couldn't Stand the Weather — Studio album by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble Released May 15, 1984 ( …   Wikipedia

  • Couldn't Stand the Weather Tour — World tour by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble Location North America …   Wikipedia

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