He recently sent me a piece of mail. This ranks with me as the most egregious error in the English language not only because of its incorrectness, but because it is so wide spread in its flagrant use, even by people of education, by people who use English professionally, editorially, etc. I am not sure what brought this on, but it is part of a long- standing disagreement we have. I would say this is a proto- idiomatic usage. At least on a pretentious day I would say that.
Language is determined by how people agree to speak and what is understood.
Idioms are frequently added to the language. Much worse to my mind are the usages that are factually wrong. I dislike the ones in which you say something that taken literally is the opposite of what you mean. There is nothing more democratic than language. Some places they have not yet, some places they have been acceptable all along.