NicholasW says: There is a big difference between a real rule, learnt in infancy,... and a fictitious "rule"...

CapK responds: My usage of less and fewer was learned from infancy

I think that the usages that we find objectionable are the ones that violate the rules we learned at our mother's knees. For example, my father used the word irregardless frequently with, I think, humorous intent. In a similar vein the only time I ever heard may used instead of can in the manner drummed into our tiny little heads by our grammar school teachers (e.g., Can I stay up and watch TV? May you stay up and watch TV and the answer is No!) was in the children's game which we knew as Mother May I