Quizmonster

[Aquagility]

It looks like....
I know you will say that 'usage is king', but is it not sloppy English to say, for instance,it looks like we're going to the dogs, rather than it looks as though we're going to the dogs?
This seems to have crept in only in the last ten years or so.

[Quizmonster]

'Looks like' in that sense - rather than in constructions such as 'He looks like his father' - started as an American colloquial usage. As with many such things, it has crept into British English now, too. Many would agree with you that it is 'sloppy'. but - as time goes on - it will simply become more and more acceptable.
As you said I'd say, "Usage is king." Certainly, I find this more acceptable than 'look to' to signify intention, as in, 'I'm looking to buy a new flat."

[triciahx]

it should'nt * look like anything, you either are or are not going to the dogs, grammatically it is very poor english

[Quizmonster]

Tricia, I can see seven examples of 'poor English' in your twenty-one words above!
When people say 'it looks like...' or 'it looks as though...' they mean that the final decision/conclusion has still not definitely been reached.
A process of 'Are we going?'...'No, we're not...' 'Yes, we are' and so forth has been gone through and - even though it seems to have ended - it might yet be altered again.
There is nothing whatever grammatically wrong with saying, 'It looks as though we're going to the dogs.' All that suggests is that there may still be further evidence that will show the opposite.

[Aquagility]

Thanks, Quizmonster. It''s always nice to get the answer one wants!

To triciahx I would say - consider this sentence - It looks like it's going to rain.

[triciahx]

lol, i would say it looks like its going to rain is a personal obsevation, rather than an actual event about to take place, as in we are going to the dogs

[triciahx]

and ohhh the wasted sarcasm, lmao