less> and as likely as fewer to modify periods of time <in less (or fewer) than four hours>." Disputed usage: This lane 12 items or less. Undisputed usage: We had fewer players on the team this season. Undisputed usage: There is less water in the tank now. like and as – Some object to the use of like as a conjunction, stating it is rather a preposition and that only as would be appropriate in this circumstance. M-W, however, cites like use as a conjunction as standard since the 14th century, and opines that opposition to it is "perhaps more heated than rational" (see M-W's entry "like [7, conjunction]"). AHD4 says "Writers since Chaucer's time have used like as a conjunction, but 19th-century and 20th-century critics have been so vehement in their condemnations of this usage that a writer who uses the construction in formal style risks being accused of illiteracy or worse", and recommends using as in formal speech and writing. OED does not tag it as colloquial or nonstandard, but notes, "Used as conj[unction]: = 'like as', as. Now generally condemned as vulgar or slovenly, though examples may be found in many recent writers of standing." Chambers lists the conjunctive use as "colloquial". Undisputed usage. He is an American as am I. Undisputed usage. He is an American like me. Undisputed usage. It looks as if this play will be a flop. Undisputed usage. This play looks like a flop. Disputed usage. He is an American like I am. Disputed usage. It looks like this play will be a flop. literally – Some argue literally should not be used as a mere emphatic, unless the thing to which it refers is actually true. It is used to disambiguate a possible metaphorical interpretation of a phrase. M-W does not condemn the second use, which means "in effect" or "virtually", but says "the use is pure hyperbole intended to gain emphasis, but it often appears in contexts where no additional emphasis is necessary". Disputed usage: The party literally went off with a bang. [No, it did not, unless there was an actual loud noise.] Undisputed usage: I literally ran more than 25 miles today. I ran a marathon. loan – The use of loan as a verb meaning "to give out a loan" is disputed, with lend being preferred for the verb form. AHD4 flatly states "[t]he verb loan is