6/24/2023 0 Comments Hue and cry idiomBut I do know that if you start at point A and do a 360-degree turn, you’re still at point A. “I couldn’t care less what my ex thinks!” 180-degree turn NOT 360-degree turn “I could care less” means you do, at least, care a little. “The house was, to all intents and purposes, abandoned.” I couldn’t care less NOT I could care less It’s easy to see how this is misheard as ‘intensive’, but it’s still wrong. The phrase dates back to 16th century law, where it started life as, ‘to all intents, constructions, and purposes’. ‘To all intents and purposes’ is defined as meaning ‘in all important respects’ or ‘virtually’. “I’m on tenterhooks waiting for my exam results!” To all intents and purposes NOT to all intensive purposes The tenterhook kept the cloth tense and tight – hence the expression. This phrase, meaning worried anticipation, comes from the word ‘tenter’ which was a frame on which cloth was stretched to prevent shrinking. You might want to nip that in the bud.” On tenterhooks NOT on tender hooks You might want to watch out for crabs nipping you in the butt if you’re hanging out at the beach… otherwise, it’s wrong. If you nip something in the bud, you’re cutting it off before it has a chance to develop, or grow. Which is your favourite? Nip it in the bud NOT nip it in the butt Without further a dew (sorry), here are 19 phrases that are commonly confused in British English. (There are also homonyms, where words sound the same, like ‘there’, ‘their’ and ‘they’re’ but these are more likely to trip you up when you’re writing, not speaking.) (Of course, the lyric is actually, “It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not” – but the alternative sounds a lot more fun.)Ī malapropism** is when a similar-sounding wrong word is used instead of the right word, with nonsensical and often funny results.Īnd an eggcorn*** is a misunderstanding or mishearing of a phrase or word, often with broadly the same meaning. Mondegreens, malapropisms and eggcornsĭon’t be misled by this subheading: these are all real names for common lexical errors.Ī mondegreen* is a misheard version of a song lyric, like this: “It doesn’t make a difference if we’re naked or not” from Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer. This article contains 19 of my favourites, along with a cheeky language lesson while we’re at it. It got me thinking about the phrases people often misuse – and why it happens. I read something the other day that used the expression ‘white as a sheep’. Some people are outraged by ‘shocking falling standards’ or the ‘English language going to hell’, much like a Daily Mail headline. If critics describe a film as “hilarious” I’m almost guaranteed not to like it.īut one thing that does make me chuckle is the misuse of language.
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