How grammarians failed to contain reflexive pronouns

The standard rule on pronouns that end in -self or -selves, set out in grammar books from Lowth (1762) to Whitney (1885) to Jespersen (1933) to Quirk (1985) to Garner (2022), is that they are for reflexive use, when subject and object are the same: ‘they entertained themselves’, ‘you could buy it for yourself’ and […]