WJ:

Both constructions appear proper to me, at least in colloquial useage, and both are akin to "like as not", which to me has always meant better than a 50-50 chance.

Your raising this question made me think of the word apt. I would cheerfully say, "It is apt to rain today" as an alternative to "It is likely to rain today." And on the surface I'd be correct.

But glancing at a dictionary taught me that apt is more often used to indicate a natural or even an unnatural tendency to error or undesireable behavior. "I am apt to kill people when I get really angry." But "I am likely to remain calm when I get really angry."

Interesting. Thanks for bringing this up, as I learned something. And welcome to our little home away from home.

TEd


TEd