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ChrisE, that 'begs the question' doesn't bother me as much as many other things. I think here it's a case of (originally) erroneous usage becoming so widespread that the new usage becomes normalised. We may not like it, but things change. Even Chambers includes 'to raise an issue for debate' as one of the definitions of 'beg the question'. There's an added 'non-standard', of course!

When you heard the phrase on television today, your immediate thought was 'that's not what it means' - but to many others, that WAS what it meant. Once generations of people have assumed a word means something and it's been used in a certain way for decades, there's very little we can do to reclaim the original use.

Jigjag, thanks for the detailed information on the store started by J Sainsbury. What chance do we, the public, have when the company has four names for itself? I think the safest thing to do is to shop only in Waitrose - that's always just Waitrose, none of this Tescos/Tesco's, Sainsbury's/Sainsburys stuff. Nobody ever goes to Waitrose's/Waitroses.

That reminds me of Denise from The Royle Family saying 'It was from Bootses.'

May I join this club please (I know I can, but I’m asking if I may) Is it (pet hate) for free?

Of course you may join us, Marca. There are no subscriptions, annual member fee, anything like that - it's deffo * for free *.

I'm adopting the * as a special PU indicator, illustrating pet hates.

Cloverjo, I like 'Bootses'!

I ‘m quite fond of a *

Welcome Marca - only 25,473 posts behind PCT now - Pedants of the World Unite!

Not 'for three' then?
Free blind mice, for example, is another of my pet hates!

In an episode of Inspector Morse many years ago, Sgt. Lewis said to someone "Can we come in"? Morse looked at it him with barely concealed contempt and said "MAY we come in" - It's funny the things one remembers!