Is the expression 'too much, too young' grammatically acceptable?

Question

I'm happy to see that grammar is being seen as important enough to be taught in English schools ( http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22403731 ) again. I think. At least it might improve some people's dating prospects, according to the article.In the above article appears:> The Idler magazine's Bad Grammar Awards recently named and shamed a> letter by academics for saying that the national curriculum demanded> "too much, too young" - thus confusing an adjective and an adverb.There is a reasonable amount of evidence online that the expression is acceptable, however, and one could argue that "too much, too young" could be considered a shortened (and punchier) form of "[they are (being) expected to do] too much [(-/,) while they are still] too young". 'They married young' is quite widely used and sounds acceptable to me - of course, this expression can fairly be analysed as 'link-like verb + adjective' without having to consider *young* as a flat adverb.When expressions achieve idiomatic status, of course, traditional grammar is no longer a controlling factor - *by and large* coordinates a preposition and an adjective.Is the *Idler*'s criticism justified here?

Answer 1

On a strictly grammatical sense, speaking as if the phrase were NOT an idiom, it is grammatically incorrect, seeing as it is not a complete sentence. While you can get away with a lack of a subject in imperative sentences, it lacks a predicate. As for the the adjective/adverb confusion, you are correct as far as I understand it. There is a flexibility on the interpretation of the words because the subject/predicate is missing. We could interpret this as applying to either a verb ( to be) or as a adjective modifier reflecting back at the subject.

However, idioms are basically the clause or modifier version of an irregular verb. They become the exception to the rule, because the idioms tend to originate from spoken word, where the sound and rhythm are an intrical part of the meaning and implications of the phrase. Losing that for the sake of grammatical accuracy destroys phrase. This is why we let idioms run amuck with grammar.