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Is there a difference in how the preposition "onto" is used in British and American English? I always understood it to match the following dictionary definition I found online, and was not aware of any difference in American English:

to a place or position on

In a side discussion on a different Stack Exchange site, another poster made the following claim:

Onto is English, whereas Unto is American English.

The expression that sparked this was "climb unto a pedestal". I suggested that the proper expression was "climb onto a pedestal". While it was a pointless discussion in the context, I still want to know which one is correct in American English.

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    I think the idea of a US/UK split here is almost certainly spurious. Aug 30, 2014 at 20:22
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    "Do onto others as others would do onto you?" I don't think so. In both AmE and BrE, onto and unto mean different things. And pedestals are climbed onto. Aug 30, 2014 at 20:25
  • @PeterShor In Norfolk they have an exclamation, when surprised by something 'Good gracious onto me!' I have never worked it out and have never heard it anywhere else.
    – WS2
    Aug 30, 2014 at 20:32
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    "Suffer the little children to come onto me" evokes the image of dozens of kids piling on top of Jesus in some bizarre kind of "play fight". Aug 30, 2014 at 20:40
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    @Pacerier: Idiomatically it's usually Woe is me! Or was, I should say, since all variants are at least "dated", if not actually archaic. But note that Woe unto me! does/did occur fairly often, whereas nobody ever said Woe onto me! Feb 26, 2016 at 12:55

1 Answer 1

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As noted the two prepositions have different meanings, and according to Goole ( see Ngram below) their usage is similar both in US and UK. You climb onto a a pedestal both in US and UK.

Onto prep:

  • On top of; to a position on; upon: The dog jumped onto the chair

  • Informal Fully aware of; informed about: The police are onto the robbers' plans.

Unto prep:

  • To.
  • Until: a fast unto death.
  • By: a place unto itself, quite unlike its surroundings.

Ngram AmE: onto, unto.

Ngram BrE: onto, unto.

Source: www.thefreedictionary.com

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    You might think "onto" is a new word from the Ngrams. It's not; 100 years ago it was spelled "on to". Aug 30, 2014 at 20:45
  • @PeterShor, That is so according to one analysis.
    – Pacerier
    Feb 26, 2016 at 12:46

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