...(Something) is becoming more scarce

The title above is what appeared as a headline following a jump from a story recently in either The Wall Street Journal or The New York Times.

I can't find the story amongst the newspapers I've read, and I've looked back several weeks. I don't even remember what it is that's become scarce, but I do remember thinking when I read the heading that it didn't sound right. Shouldn't it be ...(something) is becoming scarcer? 

Grammatically, doesn't it have something to do with superlatives? I remember a session in second grade—is that possible?—certainly before 5th grade—when the teacher outlined on what was then truly a blackboard in the 1950s, examples of comparisons and how word forms changed. For example, good, better, best; rare, rarer, rarest; not more rarer; scarce, scarcer, scarcest, not "more scarce."

Where can I get guidance on this? I have a hard copy of Benjamin Dreyer's Dreyer's English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style. As comprehensive as this book is, there is nothing in the index for "superlatives." So no, not there.

I have a hard copy edition of The Chicago Manual of Style: The 13th Edition of A Manual of Style Revised and Expanded. ( I didn't like the typeface of a more subsequent edition, so I'm not upgrading.) Nope, nothing in the index there either.

The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage? Nope. The Shorter OED doesn't even have a listing for scarcer, so I'm starting to wonder about myself.

How about my smaller dictionary, Webster's II New College Dictionary? scarce, scarcer, scarcest. Wonderful! I like this dictionary.

Will Google using AI formulate an answer?

I ask the question of Google: "Is 'more scarce' grammatically correct over scarcer?"

From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishscarce1 /skeəs $ skers/ ●●○ adjective (comparative scarcer, superlative scarcest) 1 if something is scarce, there is not very much of it available Food was often scarce in the winter. There was fierce competition for the scarce resources.

Seems like my grammar school teacher would tells us "scarcer" is the correct comparative usage of scarce.

I ask ChatGPT the same question.

Yes, "more scarce" is grammatically correct, but it’s less common than "scarcer." Typically, "scarce" is considered a one-syllable adjective, so the comparative form "scarcer" is usually preferred. However, "more scarce" can be used for emphasis or stylistic reasons. It’s a matter of choice!

I should have known when I've come to realize and grudgingly accept that judgement/judgment can be spelled with or without the first e. It's not the 1950s. Nothing like having it both ways. My teacher would not be pleased.

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