Delicate Hooks, Expresso and Other Wrong Expressions That Will Make People Laugh at You
In the immortal words of Mike Tyson after losing a fight: “I can just turn into a Bolivian.” Tyson was answering a reporter’s question about where he would go next in his career, and he was referring to this state of blissful unconsciousness or not knowing what was going on, or “forgetfulness.” Oops.
The English language and the people who use it are full of malapropisms, like Tyson. (Google defines malapropism as “the erroneous use of a word instead of a similar-sounding word, often with an unintended funny effect, such as ” flamingo dancing” (instead of flamenco ).”
Many of us are already aware of the most common mistakes that people say wrong , such as: “for all intensive purposes”, “I don’t care”, “might” (instead of “might”) and ” regardless “. (Yes, even though the dictionary has the word “regardless of what people have said wrong for so long”, it is still a non-standard and not preferred version of the word ” regardless “. To quote Merriam-Webster: “Remember that the definition is not approval of the use of the word”).
Here we delve into malapropisms. As an edification, because we’ve written about the most common offenders before, and because we’ve earned a treat when state leaders like Texas Gov. Rick Perry say things like, “We need to look at the states that are the latrines of innovation and democracy.” . “. Here are some lesser known but equally misused English idioms:
“Make a concerted effort: ” The correct phrase is “ concerted effort ”; that is, one that was planned, coordinated, or performed in unison, like a concerto.
– A whole “other story “: “Other”, although it has been said many millions of times, is not a real word. The correct phrase is “completely different story”, “completely different story” or “different story”.
“Does anyone have any antidotes to share?” Unless you’ve just witnessed a venomous snakebite and are campaigning for a life-saving drug, you want to say “Does anyone have any jokes ” or short funny stories.
“Gun-ho:” Gun-ho, gun-ho, we gotta get to work… wait, no. This is not a song. When people want to show that someone is very excited or excited about something, people mean ” fangirls “.
” To boot”: “ When you want to say someone walked out of a fight with their limbs or self-esteem didn’t get hurt too much, they left that fight intact .”
” On Nausea:” When someone chats about the same subject, they talk about it to an excessive or disgusting degree (hence the reference to nausea). This is what is known as ” to the point of nausea ” in Latin .
“Half Danger “. So it’s not full danger, but only half? Well understood. (While that word would be nice, it doesn’t really exist.) When you want to say something lacks organization, it’s at random.
Play a Gambit: A gambit is a chess move or any somewhat risky move or remark calculated to gain an advantage. (Gambit is also one of the X-Men.) Variants don’t “perform a gambit”, they control the gamma , which is the full range or scale of something.
“In layman’s terms:” When something is explained in a way that is accessible to everyone, the correct phrase is in layman’s terms , i.e. without any special language. (A layman, traditionally not a clergyman.) Overcomplicating the explanation? This sucks, dude.
“Premadonna”: “ Premadonna does not exist. (Bad. It’s actually a collection of demos released by the dude Madonna, dated 1980.) If you want to say that someone is acting like a temperamental egoist, he is acting like a prima donna . The phrase comes from the Italian opera scene.
“Expresso:” Repeat after me: there is no “x” in espresso . There is no “x” in espresso. There is no “x” in espresso! There. You are cured.
“Undoubtedly” : “If something is certain and certain, then it is undoubtedly so.
“Presumably:” No. This is supposedly . (Refers to something that is “supposed”, or commonly assumed, or believed.)
” Safe Deposit Box ” The reason it’s called a safe deposit box is because you can deposit there.
“Fall on the wasteland “: While “wasteland” may and perhaps should be a word, it is not. The expression meaning not to continue or to fall out means “to fall on the side of the road” – the side of the road means the side of the road.
“On Tender Hooks “: “Waiting nervously for something to happen is to be on pins and needles , which refers to the old method of drying cloth by stretching it tautly over a large wooden frame or ‘tenter’.
“By and large”: Although it’s hard to spot in someone’s speech, the correct phrase when trying to say “in general” is by and large .
“Tired of someone :” This is a fool. While you may become tired (exhausted) of someone or something, if you are skeptical or cautious because of a perceived danger, you are being cautious . (To be careful means to beware .) For example: “Beware of Jack. He is a player.” (PS You can also be suspicious of someone, which means the same as cautious, but unfortunately rhymes with tired.) English is fun.