"Like" as a conjunction

[Molly]

More Perrin:

‘Although he cautioned readers to be on their guard about using like as a conjunction, Porter G. Perrin, in his 1939 ‘‘Writer’s Guide and Index to English,’’ went on to say that ‘‘this construction is worth careful observation to see if like gains sufficient reputability so that it can be safely used in writing.’’’

query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.h … A960948260

Has it now gained sufficient reputability?

It seems not:

CONJUNCTION: Usage Problem 1. In the same way that; as: To dance like she does requires great discipline. 2. As if: It looks like we’ll finish on time.

Writers since Chaucer’s time have used like as a conjunction, but 19th-century and 20th-century critics have been so vehement in their condemnations of this usage that a writer who uses the construction in formal style risks being accused of illiteracy or worse.

AHD