Commonly misused words and phrases

[shetline]

Or, to quote Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride, "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

"Possession is nine tenths of the law."

This phrase means that a huge proportion of our laws and legal proceedings are concerned with who owns what. For some reason, I typically hear this phrase used to mean something like "Physically possessing a thing trumps all other claims of ownership", e.g. a family member or friend takes your iPod, you ask to get it back, and he/she chortles, "Possession is nine tenths of the law" while playfully (at least you'd hope playfully) refusing to immediately return the item.

"To coin an expression..."

Coining an expression means inventing that expression, not quoting it! Perhaps somewhere along the line someone has used "to coin an expression" in a sarcastic or ironic sense, knowing they were clearly quoting an existing phrase, but joking as if they were freshly authoring the well-known adage. My impression, however, is that most people who say "to coin an expression" or "to coin a phrase" when they're really quoting, not coining, haven't a clue about the difference between coining and quoting.

[dmz]

"By hook or by crook" originated with reference to pruning hooks when picking things like apples. Apparently there were two features at the end of the pole, and if one didn't work, the other would.

[shetline]

"By hook or by crook" originated with reference to pruning hooks when picking things like apples. Apparently there were two features at the end of the pole, and if one didn't work, the other would.
Do you feel this phrase is misused? I wouldn't call a phrase "misused" because it's used poetically, not literally, in case that's your point. For this particular example, I wouldn't call any usage of the phrase outside the context of fruit picking "misuse".

It's basically meant to say "done by whatever means will work", and that's how it's generally used in my experience. Because of the other, more contemporary connotation of the word "crook", the phrase also takes on the sense "done by whatever means will work, including breaking rules, committing crimes, etc.". I wouldn't call that additional connotation misuse, however.

[icfireball]

For all intensive purposes (incorrect) = for all intents and purposes (correct)

[dmz]

Do you feel this phrase is misused? I wouldn't call a phrase "misused" because it's used poetically, not literally, in case that's your point. For this particular example, I wouldn't call any usage of the phrase outside the context of fruit picking "misuse".

It's basically meant to say "done by whatever means will work", and that's how it's generally used in my experience. Because of the other, more contemporary connotation of the word "crook", the phrase also takes on the sense "done by whatever means will work, including breaking rules, committing crimes, etc.". I wouldn't call that additional connotation misuse, however.

Mmmmm... maybe. Language is generally cheapened with the passing of time: "stink" and "odor" didn't originally convey the meanings they do now.

It's definitely a phrase that has been twisted from it's original meaning, regardless.

[JupiterOne]

Proper usage should never be taken for "granite".

;)

[bbwi]

Then and than are constantly confused and drives me nuts when people don't use them properly

[Mr_E]

"irregardless" - Man, I hate that one..

[Kickaha]

Oh light in up, their just ignorant.

;)

[JupiterOne]

Oh please, I could care less.






*When I really couldn't care less.

[shetline]

"irregardless" - Man, I hate that one..
Oh, yeah.

[shetline]

"Begging the question" is a form of logical fallacy in which a statement or claim is assumed to be true without evidence other than the statement or claim itself.
I'll gladly accept your expertise on this particular matter. ;)

[tonton]

"Here, here" severely gets on my nerves.

The correct phrase is, "Hear! Hear!" which is in reference to a supporter of a playwright shouting for other members of the audience to carefully take the time to comprehend exactly what is being said.

[shetline]

"Here, here" severely gets on my nerves.
Me too. We could compromise, however, on "Hear here!", which not only implores one to listen, but also helpfully points out where one should listen. :D

[addabox]

"Here, here" severely gets on my nerves.



Their, their.

[shetline]

Their, their.
That could be a valid answer to "Whose their?", at least if you drop the comma. :)

[tilt]

Not "orientate", but orient. Not "preventative" but "preventive". Not "No admittance" but "No admission".

Misuse of apostrophes. "It's" means "It is", not "belonging to it". "Belonging to it" is "its" without the apostrophe.

"Between you and I" - that drives me absolutely nuts. It's "between you and ME" (note the use of the apostrophe in "It's").

"Him and me", "Her and I", "Her and her mother" - Yeesh! Learn when to use "he", "she" and "we" instead of "him", "her" and "us".

"Begging the question" however is my all-time favourite!

Cheers

[addabox]

I'm sure I've mentioned this in earlier, similar threads, but somewhere along the line it appears that people stopped hearing the final "D" in "biased" and concluded that "bias" is an adjective.

I constantly come across remarks such as "that's a totally bias opinion," and, I tell you boys, it makes me want to do terrible things.

[addabox]

On the other hand, the application of inadvertently sinister connotation via random quotation marks in now an American folk art form and should be left unmolested.

As in ALL ROOMS RECENTLY "REMODELED" or "FRESH" MEATS or "DOCTOR" ON DUTY.

[addabox]

For example:

http://slog.thestranger.com/files/2007/12/Dog45Missing.jpg


Clearly, the owners have killed and eaten their dog and are now playing some kind of sick game.

[icfireball]

"irregardless" - Man, I hate that one..

Irregardless is correct albeit informal... it means the same thing as regardless.

ORIGIN early 20th cent.: probably a blend of irrespective and regardless.

[JimDreamworx]

... "Between you and I" - that drives me absolutely nuts. It's "between you and ME" (note the use of the apostrophe in "It's")...

I thought it was "between you and myself."

It seems that using the word "me" shows how you're not very edumacated because "myself" has twice as many syllables! Therefore, it has to be correct... uh, I mean absolutely correct.

Using "absolutely" as an answer is one way to demonstrate you can use four times as many syllables as someone who would merely say "yes."

[trumptman]

When I listen to sports broadcasters they keep using the phrase "as good as anybody in the league" to highlight excellence when it highlights mediocrity.

"That Kobe Bryant can break down a man using a crossover as good as anybody in the league. That is why he is the MVP."

He is the average. That is why he is excellent.

[mydo]

"irregardless" - Man, I hate that one..

I worked with a guy that said that all the time and it was so funny I say now just to make fun of him. Unfortunately I'm the only one in on the joke.

One woman I work with says "pacifically" all the time. It's gotten so bad I have to keep for laughing when she says it.


I always get a chuckle when people say "that gives me heebie jeebies" without knowing what it really means.


I like to use "jerry-rigged" to which I always add "no offense to the germans".

[icfireball]

"Highest grossing film of all time."

I loved The Dark Knight. Saw it once in a regular movie theatre and once in IMAX. But all these news articles saying TDK is the "third highest grossing film of all time" don't make sense because the articles don't adjust for ticket-price inflation. And I'm not sure why that's not the standard measure. It's only #49 by that measure (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm).

Whether it makes sense or not, "highest grossing film of all time" is correct terminology, and that is a figure that is kept record of.

[icfireball]

When I listen to sports broadcasters they keep using the phrase "as good as anybody in the league" to highlight excellence when it highlights mediocrity.

"That Kobe Bryant can break down a man using a crossover as good as anybody in the league. That is why he is the MVP."

He is the average. That is why he is excellent.

It's a bit counter intuitive, but it does make sense, if you think about it. If you can do something as good as anybody, you are at the very least tied for the best, if not the best. People say, "as good as anybody in the league" to indicate they might not be the absolute best, but they're pretty much tied for the top spot.

[icfireball]

One woman I work with says "pacifically" all the time. It's gotten so bad I have to keep for laughing when she says it.


Haha, that reminds me of "supposeably."

I always get a chuckle when people say "that gives me heebie jeebies" without knowing what it really means.

Which means "A feeling of anxiety, apprehension or illness." How are these people using it when they use it incorrectly?

I like to use "jerry-rigged" to which I always add "no offense to the germans".

Why would that be offense to germans? Origins of the word are British:

Jerry-built, meaning to temporary or shoddy construction, dates to 1869. The OED2 hazards a guess that it may derive from the name of a builder who was notorious for poor construction. An 1884 source (unconfirmed) says that the phrase is in reference to a particular construction project on the Mersey River in Britain.

[icfireball]

Actually, both figures are available.

Really? I didn't know that! :rolleyes:

I said that it was "a" (not "the") figure that is kept record of. True story.

[icfireball]

Calm down.

It wasn't clear at all that the inflation-adjusted figure was what you were referring to in that bolded part.

I'm pretty calm. The sarcasm was just for added affect, I'm not actually angry or anything.

[addabox]

I am. I'm angry enough for everyone. It makes me powerful.

[Kickaha]

Why would that be offense to germans? Origins of the word are British:

Because during WWII, the Germans were referred to as 'Gerries' or 'Jerries' as a cultural slur, like calling the Japanese 'Japs' or 'Nips'. It's coincidentally similar, but some take offense at anything remotely close. (I've gotten screamed at for using the word 'niggardly', which has got jack-all to do with the N word. Oh, and apologies to any Jacks out there.)

And from a previous discussion on this term, it apparently also can be traced back to sailing: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jury_rig

[mydo]

Did you hear about that guy that got fired from the DC government for using using the word niggardly? He was asked how he would manage the budget for some department. He said, "very niggardly". By the time people were educated about the word it was concluded that he should have known that people would misconstrue his intention and so he was fired.

[addabox]

Did you hear about that guy that got fired from the DC government for using using the word niggardly? He was asked how he would manage the budget for some department. He said, "very niggardly". By the time people were educated about the word it was concluded that he should have known that people would misconstrue his intention and so he was fired.

I remember that. It struck me as a depressing example of mass stupidity. Once of those occasions where you keep waiting for the grownups to show up to explain things, and they never do.

[Guybrush Threepwood]

Even dictionary.com does the word dirty.

When giving an example of using it in a sentence, it quotes "He left the waiter a niggardly tip."

[Mark W]

My favourites are when people say:
- Brought instead of bought and vice versa.
- Generally instead of genuinely and vice versa.
- i.e. instead of e.g. and vice versa.

[mydo]

I like i.e. vs. e.g. because I had at least a year of latin. I like how people like to use a proiri in scientific text a lot. To me it has a specific statistical meaning but often authors like to use it to mean "we had information before we got started". Most people do.

[ThinkingDifferent]

"I Love You"

[tilt]

This morning while watching CBC's coverage of the Beijing olympics I heard the anchor use the word "winningest". I was not eloquent enough to be able to express my disgust in any of the languages I speak.

I first heard this word used by some American TV commentator with respect to some American race-car driver. I remember thinking then that I should forgive this man because he was American and did not know any better; but when I heard it on CBC I had trouble containing myself.

I was told that CBC is modelled after BBC when it comes to grammar and pronunciation. One will never hear such mangling of English on BBC.

Cheers

*Edited for punctuation

[icfireball]

"I Love You"

Ahaha

[icfireball]

This morning while watching CBC's coverage of the Beijing olympics I heard the anchor use the word "winningest". I was not eloquent enough to be able to express my disgust in any of the languages I speak.

I first heard this word used by some American TV commentator with respect to some American race-car driver. I remember thinking then that I should forgive this man because he was American and did not know any better; but when I heard it on CBC I had trouble containing myself.

I was told that CBC is modelled after BBC when it comes to grammar and pronunciation. One will never hear such mangling of English on BBC.

Cheers

*Edited for punctuation

There is nothing wrong with winningest. Most winning sounds weird.

[mydo]

Do you guys say "take a decision" or "make a decision"?

[icfireball]

do you guys say "take a decision" or "make a decision"?

make.

[Kickaha]

This morning while watching CBC's coverage of the Beijing olympics I heard the anchor use the word "winningest". ... One will never hear such mangling of English on BBC.

I'm nearly positive I heard that exact word with respect to Michael Phelps on BBC Radio this morning. Sorry. :)

[tilt]

I'm nearly positive I heard that exact word with respect to Michael Phelps on BBC Radio this morning. Sorry. :)

If BBC has started to use such terms, it is the beginning of the end :)

Cheers

[icfireball]

If BBC has started to use such terms, it is the beginning of the end :)

Cheers

It's the beginning of the end when you punctuate your sentences with emoticons.

[tilt]

It's the beginning of the end when you punctuate your sentences with emoticons.

I don't know what to say other than mea culpa.

Cheers

[hmurchison]

"cut the mustard"

I think it's the bastard cousin of

Cutting muster.

http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/mustard.html


and the funniest mistakes.


"hahah looks like he cut off his nose despite his face" (cutting off ones nose to spite their face)

"french benefits" (Fringe benefits)

'hopefully it will peak your interest" (if that piques your interest)

[addabox]

I am obliged to once again pay homage to the greatest malapropism it was ever my privilege to hear, a gaffe so lovely that I have ever since endeavored to use it at every opportunity:

"Monkey up the waters."

[midwinter]

I am obliged to once again pay homage to the greatest malapropism it was ever my privilege to hear, a gaffe so lovely that I have ever since endeavored to use it at every opportunity:

"Monkey up the waters."

Jesus, Adda. It's not rocket surgery. Don't reinvent the dead horse and go monkeying up the waters.

[addabox]

Jesus, Adda. It's not rocket surgery. Don't reinvent the dead horse and go monkeying up the waters.

Yes! Yes! It's mucus to my ears!

[midwinter]

Yes! Yes! It's mucus to my ears!

Meh. It's a mute point, irregardless.

[addabox]

Meh. It's a mute point, irregardless.

You're right, for all intensive purposes. But what are you going to do? It's a doggy dog world.

[icfireball]

Yes! Yes! It's mucus to my ears!

There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again.

[mydo]

One people often get wrong is "with a grain of salt" where they try to exaggerate it and say "a big grain of salt". The idiom is saying that all that's needed is a single grain of salt so adding more salt doesn't help emphasize the point. If fact going the other way would be more correct I would think, "you don't need a gain of salt ..."

[Bageljoey]

My supervisor was giving a talk where I took notes on every use of the words "literally" and "actually." I lost my notes (a full page that would probably get me fired if it found its way to my boss) but I wil never forget:
"I'm sorry Mrs. Suchandso cannot be here, she is literally under the weather."

I imagine a poor woman burried under rain and snow, but I'm sure that is not what he ment...

[tilt]

but I'm sure that is not what he ment...

Ment? Burried? You should type slower or use the backspace key more often like I do :)

Cheers

[Bageljoey]

Ment? Burried? You should type slower or use the backspace key more often like I do :)

Cheers

meant

Thanks. Nothing to do with typing speed or backspacing, though. I seem to lack the ability to see when words are mispelled. Ment looked fine to me. If the spell check software doesn't flag it, my only hope is to have my wife proofread--and that just aint happening with AI posts.

When picking on someone for their use (or misuse) of words, however, I suppose it behooves me to be more careful...

edit: Crap! The spell check does flag "ment." I am out of excuses...

[mydo]

In building design the landing of the stairwell is intended to be a place of "refuge" for people that cannot get down the stairs. That way they can survive the fire until the firemen can rescue them. In a meeting my wife's boss, an architect, kept referring to it as the place of "refugee". My wife had vision of boat people being housed in stairwells.

[BRussell]

Begs the question.

I remember learning this for the first time in high school. It means to engage in circular reasoning, or to assume that the conditions are true, as in "He begs the question when he says all politicians are dishonest because to get elected politicians lie."

But recently, I'd say 90% of the times I've seen this phrase used to mean raises the question, as in "Obama's nomination begs the question: Will Americans elect a black president?"

But here's the odd thing: The wrong usage sounds better to me now. It begs the question, it asks the question, it demands the question.

[midwinter]

Begs the question.

I remember learning this for the first time in high school. It means to engage in circular reasoning, or to assume that the conditions are true, as in "He begs the question when he says all politicians are dishonest because to get elected politicians lie."

But recently, I'd say 90% of the times I've seen this phrase used to mean raises the question, as in "Obama's nomination begs the question: Will Americans elect a black president?"

But here's the odd thing: The wrong usage sounds better to me now. It begs the question, it asks the question, it demands the question.

I was that way about not splitting some infinitives (e.g. "to explain completely"). Now I'm used to it, I suppose.

[SDW2001]

I'm pretty calm. The sarcasm was just for added affect, I'm not actually angry or anything.

I think it's "effect" in this case. :)

[BRussell]

I was that way about not splitting some infinitives (e.g. "to explain completely"). Now I'm used to it, I suppose.

I always took you for one of those hippie "language is always changing" types.

One that really bugs me no matter how many times I see it is treating data as a singular noun. "The data shows..." or "The data is..." Yech. But I think that's to the point of "acceptable usage" today.

[midwinter]

I think it's "effect" in this case. :)

Unless he meant affect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affect_(psychology)). ;)

[midwinter]

I always took you for one of those hippie "language is always changing" types.

I am, for the most part. I like for words to be spelled correctly and for sentences to be punctuated correctly. In other words, while I accept that language is constantly changing, that isn't to say that there aren't any rules and we should just go watermelon sugar all over the place. I think that many times, people simply refuse to learn the rules (e.g. for apostrophes, for commas, for semi-colons), and then some of those people become teachers and tell students that you put a comma where you pause, that no one can remember the rule for the apostrophe, and that semi-colons are simply so complex that they should be avoided at all costs.

I mean, seriously, what is the difference between saying "I don't understand [basic element of English grammar" and saying "I just can't do addition"?

One that really bugs me no matter how many times I see it is treating data as a singular noun. "The data shows..." or "The data is..." Yech. But I think that's to the point of "acceptable usage" today.

Yeah. I agree. But we should hold the line, BRussell! Fight the good fight for data and datum alike!!! CONSIDER ALL THE ATTORNEYS GENERAL WHO HAVE BEEN SO OFTEN MISLABELED! THINK OF THE ATTORNEYS GENERAL!

[icfireball]

Unless he meant affect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affect_(psychology)). ;)

Spot on, Midwinter.

[icfireball]

One thing that has bothered me is that the use of "they" as a singular pronoun in writing is considered by some as unacceptable. Using gender specific pronouns don't make sense in modern day writing due to the gender neutral language movement, but at the same time, avoiding gender specific terms using combinations like "him or her," "he/she," or "s/he," or pronouns like "one" or "an individual" are awkward and cumbersome. I'm definitely in favor of singular they (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they).

[midwinter]

One thing that has bothered me is that the use of "they" as a singular pronoun in writing is considered by some as unacceptable. Using gender specific pronouns doesn't make sense in modern day writing due to the gender neutral language movement, but at the same time, avoiding gender specific terms using combinations like "him or her," "he/she," or "s/he," or pronouns like "one" or "an individual" are awkward and cumbersome. I'm definitely in favor of singular they (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singular_they).

This is just one of those areas where English is weird. I blame the Romans. And the Germans. And the French. And the Norse. Basically, anyone who conquered England at some point. And that's just about everyone. ;)

[jonnyb]

I love these threads. Here are a few more:

It's not that good of a product
I wish you would have seen me
We will be taking off momentarily
There are less cars on the road than usual

[midwinter]

I'm trying to think.

[icfireball]

I love these threads. Here are a few more:

It's not that good of a product
I wish you would have seen me
We will be taking off momentarily
There are less cars on the road than usual

What? I don't get how any of those are misused...?

[midwinter]

What? I don't get how any of those are misused...?

It's not an awesome product
I wish you had seen me
We will be taking off soon
There are fewer cars on the road than usual

[shetline]

I never got the less/fewer thing.

Same difference, but fewer sounds more refined.
"Fewer" is for countable things, things that can be considered as a varying number of unit items, e.g. fewer cars, fewer dogs, fewer excuses.

"Less" is for non-integer quantities, things that you would measure not by counting particular items or units but by using a continuous scale, e.g. less water, less time, less patience.

Both words could be used for the same thing depending on whether conceptual individual units are considered or ignored, e.g. less salt vs. fewer grains of salt.

[tilt]

I love these threads. Here are a few more:

It's not that good of a product

It's not that good a product. The "of" is what is wrong here.

Cheers

[midwinter]

It actually sounds like fewer is for plural nouns and less is for singular nouns.

Seems like an easier rule, but then there are exceptions like "less brains = not as smart" vs. "fewer brains = not as many physical brains as say... that multi-brained alien known as dmz."

That right there is the kind of thinking that got us to "I put in a comma where I pause." :p

[icfireball]

Parts of a letter form Viacom:

"We note that YouTube and Google have adopted a policy that forces copyright owners like Viacom or yourself to shoulder the entire burden of monitoring for copyright infringement on the YouTube site."

"Viacom has no alternative accept to repeatedly search the entire YouTube library," the letter continued, "and send take-down notices...This is a massive effort. We have manually reviewed over 1.7 million clips on YouTube and have identified more than 187,000 pirated clips of our copyrighted content. In an effort of this scale, some inadvertent error is inevitable."

The error is in bold.

[jonnyb]

It's not an awesome product
I wish you had seen me
We will be taking off soon
There are fewer cars on the road than usual

Nearly right except for the first one. As someone else has pointed out, it should be 'It's not that good a product'. The 'of' is entirely superfluous.

'If you had been there you would have seen me' is correct. 'I wish you had seen me' is also correct. However, 'I wish you would have seen me' is a horrible mangling of tenses.

'We will be taking off momentarily' is a misuse of 'momentarily', which means 'for a moment' not 'in a moment'. It scares me when I hear that as my plane is about to take off on a long flight.

There are fewer cars because the cars are plural. You could have less traffic, because the traffic is singular.

[midwinter]

Nearly right except for the first one. As someone else has pointed out, it should be 'It's not that good a product'. The 'of' is entirely superfluous.

I mostly just don't like that sentence construction at all. It's not that good a sentence. It's not that big a building. It's not that fast a plane. It's an odd, clumsy, construction that sounds like some holdover from the 17th century.

In short, I think it should be avoided.

[jonnyb]

I mostly just don't like that sentence construction at all. It's not that good a sentence. It's not that big a building. It's not that fast a plane. It's an odd, clumsy, construction that sounds like some holdover from the 17th century.

In short, I think it should be avoided.

It's a perfectly acceptable sentence construction. It's syntactically correct. I use and hear it all the time. 'I mostly just don't like ...', on the other hand, has a particularly poor syntax.

'It's not an awesome product' in your suggested alternative also betrays the way in which the word 'awesome' has become completely devalued, too.

[midwinter]

Didn't realize we were being assessed, professor. I'll refrain from further awe-inspiring devaluations and colloquial adverbial constructions in the future. :p

[addabox]

I use the "not that x an x" construction when I intend to downgrade something already in the conversational offing.

For instance, I would never say "It's not that big of a car" simply upon beholding a Mini, but I might say "It's not that big of a problem" if I am in a meeting wherein it seems to me that other participants are getting a little carried away. I guess you could say that it's a phrase I wouldn't generally use unless I'm verbally italicizing the "that."

Then again, that may be just me, as I generally speak in tongues and have a tendency towards abrupt tonal shifts like, you know, mid-sentence, ya'll, or something.

[addabox]

Didn't realize we were being assessed, professor. I'll refrain from further awe-inspiring devaluations and colloquial adverbial constructions in the future. :p

Grammar fight! I got ten on Middy, who's in?

[midwinter]

Bwahahahahahahaha!!!