265b. therefore it is probable, that he wil reingraffe the Iewes, which is more
likely (1618 Parr, A plaine exposition vpon the whole 8. 9. 10. 11. chapters
of the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans [EEBO])
c. Hee above all others, is sure to be wrongfully loaden with slanders, dis-
graces, lying imputations, and all manner of foule indignities; and many
times by the baser sort, which is more intolerable. (1634 Bolton, A three-
fold treatise containing the saints sure and perpetuall guide [EEBO])
d. murther me where I stand, which is more righteous and just then to doe it
by pretence of (1649 Triall, of Lieut. Collonell John Lilburne [CED])
e. if that trade should thus increase upon us, which is more probable then that
the Expence of our Woolen Manufacturers will increase (1697 Pollexfen,
England and East India inconsistent in their manufactures [Lampeter])
The parenthetical construction shown in (18) occurs sporadically in the eight-
eenth through twentieth centuries (see 20), but is now rarely found in Present-
day English (see 5d– e):
(20) a. I forgot to tell you, that of the Secret Committee Sir John Rushout and
Cholmley Turnor never go to it, nor, which is more extraordinary , Sir
John Barnard. (1735– 69 Walpole, Letters [CLMET3.0])
b. It brought him into connexion with more hearers; and, which is more
important, with the ignorant, poor, and vicious (1839 North American
Review [COHA])
c. I have really been out; and am really alive after it which is more surprising
still alive enough I mean, to write even so, to- night. (1845– 6 The letters of
Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning [CLMET3.0])
d. Nor – which is more to the point in this connection perhaps – did I please
her (1901 Kingsley, The history of Sir Richard Calmady [CLMET3.0])
e. Or, which is more likely, it fi nds association, in the subconscious mind
of American youth, with but recently discarded wonder tales of Superman,
(1942 Saturday Evening Post [COHA])
The sentential relative construction shown in (18) has a continuous history up
until the present (though often decried by prescriptivists).^9
9.3.5 It Is More Adj That
As noted in Section 9.2.2 , the cleft sentence It is more Adj that is also com-
pared synchronically with the which is more/ what’s more construction. EEBO
9 Webster’s (s.v. which 2) records proscriptions against sentential which in the early twenti-
eth century, explaining that in this construction which does not refer to a specifi c (nominal)
antecedent, as it rightfully should. It notes, however, that many authorities accept this usage.
The OED (s.v. which, pron. and adj., def. III, 7c) describes the use of which “[r] eferring to a
fact, circumstance, or statement” as “[n]ow very common in spoken English,” citing examples
from 1390.
9.3 History of What’s More