Seraphin  +  552266 Thu, 07 Aug 08 08:48 PM According to the dictionary, there IS a difference between "in my behalf" and "on my behalf". I wonder if there is any actual difference in the daily usage of these two idioms. Thank you Seraphin Joined on Sat, Feb 9 2008 Full Member 151 Idioms, Difference Between

	Feebs11  +  552333 Fri, 08 Aug 08 12:44 AM  I don't believe I have ever met "in my behalf".  There are 9 occurences in the American National Corpus, which all look to me like grammatical errors.  Feebs11 Joined on Thu, Nov 23 2006 UK Veteran Member 5,015

	Mr Wordy  +  552345 Fri, 08 Aug 08 01:44 AM I would never say "in my behalf", I don't believe that I have ever heard anyone else say it, and if I read it I would probably assume it to be a typo or blunder, depending on how much I trusted the source. However, there are 1800 Google Book hits for this phrase, many dating back to the 1800s, and I find it very hard to believe that they are all typos or errors. So... Mr Wordy Joined on Tue, May 27 2008 Senior Member 2,359 Native British English speaker

	Grammar Geek  +  552347 Fri, 08 Aug 08 01:48 AM Seraphin “According to the dictionary, there IS a difference between "in my behalf" and "on my behalf" ”  It's not used on this side of the Atlantic, either. What does your dictionary say it means, Saraphin?   Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,683 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random!

	Seraphin  +  552505 Fri, 08 Aug 08 02:27 PM What if I want to say "in the interest of someone", can I still use "on one's behalf" ?  According to the dictionaries, Random House Unabridged Dictionary (1) in or on behalf of, as a representative of or a proxy for (2) in or on (someone's) behalf, in the interest or aid of (someone) American Heritage Dictionary Usage Note: A traditional rule holds that in behalf of and on behalf of have distinct meanings. In behalf of means "for the benefit of," as in We raised money in behalf of the earthquake victims. On behalf of means "as the agent of, on the part of," as in The guardian signed the contract on behalf of the minor child. The two meanings are quite close, however, and the phrases are often used interchangeably, even by reputable writer Seraphin

	Grammar Geek  +  552536 Fri, 08 Aug 08 03:30 PM Truthfully, I wouldn't say "We're raising money in behalf of the fire victims." I'd say "We're raising money to benefit the fire victims" or "... for the benefit fo the fire victims."   Grammar Geek