"more and more" and "less and less"

[Shinya Maki]

Hello, everyone.


The following is from an article, titled “The decline of manners in the U.S.,” from CNN. Com.


“More and more, manners are taught less and less.”


(http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:z9_tkOpCKeQJ:www.cnn.com/2005/US/10/14/poll.rude.ap/+%22More+and+more,+manners+are+taught+less+and+les s%22&hl=ja)


It seems to me “Manners are taught less and less” does not go along with “more and more.” Is this natural English and does it make sense?


Best regards,
Shinya Maki

[IkimashoZ]

Yes, I agree. This seems kind of strange, but I think that was the intent of the author. It does make logical sense though, even if it seems contradictory at first glance.

"More and more often, it seems that manners are taught to children less and less often."

"Less and less" is describing the teaching of manners, and indicates decreasing frequency. "More and more" is describing the the decreasing frequency itself. "more and more infrequently", in other words.