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English is not my native language.

I am curious about the usage of "to my mind".

  • Is it a British English phrase?
  • Is it used in American English?
  • Is it formal/informal?

I've found an interesting article where the author is very surprised by the expression:

I have found that “to my mind” is commonly used in Ukraine ... This is strange to me and everyone else in my cluster

Nevertheless there is "to my mind" in the Cambridge dictionary.

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2 Answers

up vote 7 down vote accepted

It means in my opinion and is common in both BrE and AmE. OED and NOAD both give the following description:

to my mind in my opinion: this story is, to my mind, a masterpiece.

And I don't see anything informal with the expression. Neither NOAD nor the OED marks it that way.

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1  
It could be that not all AmE dialects use "to my mind". I use it and don't find anything strange about it, but I am from the upper Midwest; the writer of the blog post OP linked to seems to be from Georgia (or at least she went to college there). – alcas Sep 12 '12 at 9:52
up vote 0 down vote

In British English it is seen as a slightly formal expression...that is it is seen, as a middle class way of speaking.

A more working class (if slightly old fashioned) way of saying the same thing would be, I reckon.

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Yes, or "to my way of thinking". – Suke Sep 30 '12 at 13:47

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