I received an e-mail today that contained the following:

“please email me as per for immediate follow up”

This sentence, of course, has larger issues than the “as per.” But it made me think about this little expression, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I hate it.

I’ve searched through a number of dictionaries and usage guides, and there’s a surprising lack of consistency on whether the “as” is acceptable. To me, it’s ridiculous: “per” itself means “according to, “so “as per” means “as according to.” Redundant.

“I am sending this memo as per the CEO” = “I am sending this memo as according to the CEO.” Redundant!

This should be recast as “I am sending this message per the CEO.”

Of course, that’s assuming you are really stuck on using “per” at all. A better way would be to remove “per” altogether and write what you really mean: “The CEO has approved this memo.”

In my search for clarity on “as per,” I found the following gem from Erik Partridge’s Usage and Abusage:

as per, “in accordance with,” is such horrible commercialese that even merchant princes are less than riotously happy when their secretaries wish it on them

Indeed.