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"I did it as a lark" has been used as an expression for a long time already, well over a century. To give a few examples, https://www.google.com/books/edition/
by Twirrim 5y ago
"I did it as a lark" has been used as an expression for a long time already, well over a century.
To give a few examples, https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Boy_s_Own_Annual/X745AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22did+it+as+a+lark%22&pg=PA722&printsec=frontcover https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Boy_s_Own_Annual/X7...
"Sure as goodness, I thought you both did it as a lark", from a book published in 1895, so it's reasonable to assume it was already in some level of common idiom by then. It's unlikely The Boys Own Annual was trail blazing in its use of language.
Or https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Fortnightly_Review/oVLPAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=%22did+it+as+a+lark%22&dq=%22did+it+as+a+lark%22&printsec=frontcover https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Fortnightly_Review/... from 1929. "D you remember I got certified as a lunatic for trying to make a living by betting that one horse would reach a post before another, I admit it was silly, but I only did it as a lark"
Language changes and evolves over time. You're attempting to be King Canute, except maybe one apparently deluded enough to believe the courtiers, only not as the tide is on the way in, but as the tide is long past and you've almost drowned.
The ship sailed on the point you're making before you were even born.
- CyberRabbi 5y agoA few exceptional Google books searches does not prove the rule. Using correct English increases the chances that others will understand what we are saying, improving the chances of accomplishing our goals. What is wrong with helping others in that?
- Jarwain 5y agoDoes anyone actually use "as a lark" to mean the action was done while being a bird? Common usage these days is for "as a lark" to be effectively synonymous with "on a lark"; thus it would be more useful/helpful for people to be familiar with this variation of the common idiom.
- handelaar 5y ago"On a lark" is something I (a native English speaker, from London, which is in England, after which the language is named) have never heard or seen written -- anywhere -- before your ill-considered and wholly-incorrect posts on this thread. Shush.
- CyberRabbi 5y agoNot sure why new information has provoked such a personal response from you. As a native English speaker from London, have you heard of “as a lark”?
- stordoff 5y agoUsually in British English (Yorkshire, might vary by region), I just hear "It is/was/will be a lark", so I'm not sure if either is particularly common. However, I've definitely come across people using "as a lark", whereas I can't recall hearing "on a lark". I've seen it used in text, but I'm not sure how many were from British English speakers.