Kenneth G. Wilson (1923–). The Columbia Guide to Standard American English. 1993.
indulge (v.)
The transitive verb indulge combines with the prepositions in or with, as in He frequently indulges his friends in [with] an expensive dinner at his club. The intransitive verb combines only with in, as in She indulges in too much self-pity. A Conversational use, rather arch and euphemistic, appears in the host’s question as he lingers with the bottle in hand, “Will you indulge?” meaning, “Will you have a(n alcoholic) drink?” And there is the archaic sense in A popular stereotype is that grandparents indulge their grandchildren too much, meaning “… grandparents let their grandchildren have their way too often or spoil them with attention or gifts and the like.” The generic sense, “Let me have my way,” in Indulge me, please, just this once is still Standard, as is the use of indulge with a reflexive pronoun: They indulged themselves with an expensive dinner.
