Over vs. More Than : Non-Errors



Some people claim that “over” cannot be used to signify “more than,” as in “Over a thousand baton-twirlers marched in the parade.”


“Over,” they insist, always refers to something physically higher: say, the blimp hovering over the parade route.


This absurd distinction ignores the role metaphor plays in language.


If I write 1 on the blackboard and 10 beside it, 10 is still the “higher” number.


“Over” has been used in the sense of “more than” for over a thousand years.