Kalimantan Gull
Well-known member
Mark Kermode on the BBC film show was wondering what a Crowf was, as in the phrase, 'As the Crowf Lies'
Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊
Common sayings people get wrong
- Thread starter Ⓩ-Ⓐ-Ⓜ-Ⓞ-Ⓡ-Ⓐ
- Start date
Tom Bombadil
Well-known member
It means you want it both ways . You want to eat your cake and still have it, (maybe to eat later with a nice cup of tea).
Don't thank me - knowing is a curse! I've just opened up a whole new avenue of irritation for you as I thnk it is the most misused expressio. if you use it correctly no-one will know what you mean!
Prince Monolulu
Everything in Moderation
Probably should be on another thread but reading some posts on social media, can all those using the word 'hun' (for honey) in questions or observations please go and boil your head.
Codner's Crackpipe
Active member
- Feb 25, 2005
- 184
Entirely rational. File under the insidious creep of "season" (instead of "series") and "gotten" (instead of "become").
rabbitmaddie
Member
"State of the ark"
Almost the exact opposite of "state of the art"
Almost the exact opposite of "state of the art"
A lot of these are examples of egg corns aren't they? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn
- Jan 3, 2012
- 16,597
I agree totally.
But it is a biblical quotation, and if one is writing or talking about something that Jesus is supposed to have said, there is a world of difference between "Money is the root of all evil" and "The Love of Money is the root of all evil".
In other words,If anybody says "It says in the Bible that Money is the root of all evil", they are wrong.
- Jan 3, 2012
- 16,597
I agree! Maybe we should have a separate theological discussion thread, although some of this might broaden the horizons of others with narrow views about religion.
Eddiespearritt
Well-known member
Not a phrase I hear daily any more - but I get annoyed when people say "it's a mute point" rather than "it's a moot point". Listen to Talksport for about 15 minutes and you'll hear the destruction of the english language laid out in its full unadulterated glory - even given the inanities of the norf and sarf London accents that seem prevalent. Eg: Ray Parlour "ooo was you finking abaht playin in midfield".
Papa Lazarou
Living in a De Zerbi wonderland
Watching America TV as a kid I thought there were 3 major coastal cities in California, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Ellais ... fool
This is an interesting one. I think it's a dialect thing, rather than something that some people get wrong. If you go to Birmingham, and quite a few places up north they use these terms in this way all the time. As in 'Can I lend a tenner from you' instead of 'Can I borrow a tenner'. It stumped me at first, but I got used to it, but you do have to work out which way round they're meaning (although to be fair, no-one has ever come up to me offering to lend me a tenner...)
Instead of saying "as dry as a bone" my dear Wife says "dry as a dog", bless!
half time scores
Well-known member
Humble pie
Easy 10
Brain dead MUG SHEEP
"Butter wouldn't melt in his/her mouth", or the more usual abbreviated "butter wouldn't melt" is a saying I have never quite understood. People seem to use it when they see a picture of someone or something apparently "cute" - often someones BAYBEE or something. But surely it implies a coldness inside of them, which is hardly a compliment.
"Awww...butter wouldn't melt, hun"
"So you're saying Cressida is some sort of REPTILE ?"
*blocked*
"Awww...butter wouldn't melt, hun"
"So you're saying Cressida is some sort of REPTILE ?"
*blocked*
FatSuperman
Well-known member
- Feb 25, 2016
- 2,830
I saw this thread just now and the first thing I did is check for this. It infuriates me for some reason and on the rare occasion I hear someone say it (a few of the grads in our office use the phrase!) I can't help but publicly lambast them. There is getting a phrase muddled, and then there is getting it so wrong that what you say is the opposite of the intent. Even worse, nearly all of them insist that they are correct in their usage - no doubt reinforced by American television etc.
I see what you did there...Very clever!
alfredmizen
Banned
- Mar 11, 2015
- 6,342
It's as happy as a sandboy
FatSuperman
Well-known member
- Feb 25, 2016
- 2,830
I don't think it's supposed to be a compliment, although I think you're right that it's used like that now. I always took it to mean that someone looked pure, or cute, or cool whatever, but actually were fake.
Thunder Bolt
Silly old bat
"Cheap at half the price" is the original and correct version of the saying. In Middle English, cheap, or "cheep" also meant goods or property, so the street cry, "Cheap at half the price!", was the Middle Ages' equivalent of today's shop window sign, "All stock 50% off". Chaucer uses this meaning in, "...greet cheep is holde at litel pris...". That is to say, where there is an abundance, "greet cheep" = great supply of goods, the price is low "..holde at litel price" = is valued at a low price. Possibly the earliest reference to supply and demand! The corruption, "Cheap at twice the price" would have appeared through a misunderstanding of the original meaning of "cheep".