You know what I hate? When people get the phrase wrong. It’s the written equivalent of getting the words to a song wrong.
That said, I’ve been guilty of this myself.
I started a blog once called “for all intensive purposes.” nnnnhh! (that’s a buzzer sound, by the way). It’s “for all intents and purposes.”
I used to think that Steve Winwood’s song was “Bring me a pie of love.” Don’t ask. I must have been really hungry the day I came up with that one. Instead of “bring me a higher love.”
I still don’t know what the hell Bruce Springsteen is saying in Thunder Road, “skeleton frames of burned out…” … something. I don’t think the next word is in English. Listen to the song and tell me I’m wrong.
I just read an Amazon review that called a book’s tone “tongue and cheek.” Just in case you were wondering, it’s “tongue in cheek.” That phrase has various stories of its origin, I don’t know which one is true.
How about you…what are your favorite misphrasings?
5 responses so far ↓
Amber // April 29, 2009 at 8:29 pm |
The one that drives me absolutely crazy is “I could care less.” No, you COULDN’T care less. Could. NOT. Care. Less. Because if you COULD care less… you care. Which is the exact opposite of what all of the thousands and thousands of people who say this wrongly mean.
I see this one used all the time, though: so often that I fear “could care less” is becoming the norm.
Also, “tenderhooks”. It’s “tenterhooks”. No such thing as a tender hook, as much fun as that sounds.
Hank // April 29, 2009 at 8:47 pm |
Absolutely!
And I’d love to know what someone would mean, exactly, by “tenderhooks.” Sounds like S&M, with a heart.
The Cubicle's Backporch // April 29, 2009 at 9:42 pm |
I agree with Amber, although I think I’ve ALWAYS heard it said ‘I could care less’ so every once in a while I say that then think in my head ‘WTF? That doesn’t make any sense!’
I can’t think of any right now, but I know there’s one that really bugs me… I’ll think of it later.
Melina // May 1, 2009 at 12:34 pm |
it’s burned out chevrolets…don’t mess with Bruce
Hank // May 1, 2009 at 6:25 pm |
I used to be a big Bruce fan. But I’m not happy with his more recent stuff. The problem, in my opinion, is he got happy. When he was home, and his father was beating the crap out of him, he wrote “Lost in the Flood,” “Hard to be a Saint in the City,” “Mary Queen of Arkansas,” “For You,” “Spirit in the Night” and basically the entire Greetings From Asbury Park NJ album. Once he got happy, it was “57 Channels and Nothin’ On.”
Anyway, I listened to that line again, and—even knowing the word is Chevrolets—I couldn’t figure out what the hell he was saying.