View Full Version : The mangling of idomatic expressions (a minor rant and call for commiseration)
Zundfolge
05-13-2013, 14:17
Ok, so this probably makes me a schmuck, but I'm getting to the point where I can't function when I hear someone mangle common idiomatic expressions.
This is particularly problematic as I have a wife who is apparently genetically predisposed to mangle idiomatic expressions and constant mispronunciation of words ... her mother was worse about it than she is but for the love of God learn the phrases properly if you don't want people to think you're an idiot. Its especially annoying when I correct her and she gets mad ... so I don't correct her and someone else notices so she gets mad at me for not correcting her when we're in private so she doesn't embarrass herself.
Anyway, today's outrage is[B] "Nip it in the butt" ... AAAAAARRRRGGG! (actually saw this in print so there should have been an editor catch it ... so its double-plus annoying)
It's Nip it in the BUD ... sheesh. It means to put an end to something before it develops into something larger. (Alludes to destroying a flower bud before it blooms). Nipping someone in the butt might stop them from doing whatever they're doing but it makes no sense as an idiomatic expression.
Even Barny Effing Fife gets this one right.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=de_P2aUZJyA
BushMasterBoy
05-13-2013, 14:20
Nip it in the butt...homophobe![hahhah-no]
Lol. I'm about half a rung up the evolutionary ladder from a monkey and I know better than that.
There are several of these that I hear people butcher all of the time. My mind is too full from work to think of a good example right now. I'm sure it will come to me later.
On another note... I think you and I may be married to the same woman.
sellersm
05-13-2013, 14:30
Irregardless of the nipping... [LOL]
Could care less/couldn't care less
Tie me over/tide me over
Conservative/Republican
My wife pronounces the "L" in Salmon, knows it's wrong, and does it anyway.
Zundfolge
05-13-2013, 14:37
On another note... I think you and I may be married to the same woman.
We probably all are :p
<p>
Irregardless. [Rant1]Oh, and for all intesive purposes</p>
Like my wife tells our five year-old, "If you don't know what something means, then you aren't allowed to say it."
NFATrustGuy
05-13-2013, 14:48
I think I was 14 before I realized Wal-Mart didn't have an 's' on the end of it. I guess that's what happens when raised by a single (widowed) parent in Kansas!
RWW
BushMasterBoy
05-13-2013, 14:54
Orange County Chopper..."that's a good idear"
Jeffrey Lebowski
05-13-2013, 15:01
My wife pronounces the "L" in Salmon, knows it's wrong, and does it anyway.
How about the w in sword or the h in what?
'cause that's just awesome.
Irregardless of the nipping... [LOL]
Awesome
BlasterBob
05-13-2013, 15:33
Isn't the word "stuff" already a plural. Thus, no need for "stuffs". So, is there a singular for stuff? Perhaps "miscellaneous crap". I'm only an old "high school dummy" so one of you learned folks can hopefully enlighten this old fart because I still have a LOT to learn. [blaster]
sellersm
05-13-2013, 15:38
Zundfolge, can you relate? http://blogs.islandpacket.com/38799
kidicarus13
05-13-2013, 15:38
I could never figure out if it's STAY ON TRACK or STAY ON TRACT so I avoid using it.
RblDiver
05-13-2013, 15:47
Isn't the word "stuff" already a plural. Thus, no need for "stuffs". So, is there a singular for stuff? Perhaps "miscellaneous crap". I'm only an old "high school dummy" so one of you learned folks can hopefully enlighten this old fart because I still have a LOT to learn. [blaster]
I suppose it depends on whether you're using stuff as a noun or a verb. (And then there are special cases, like "foodstuffs").
sellersm
05-13-2013, 15:53
I could never figure out if it's STAY ON TRACK or STAY ON TRACT so I avoid using it.
It's the former, as in "don't get derailed", stay on the tracks.
Watch any current reality show featuring mouth breathers for plenty of examples.
Chad4000
05-13-2013, 16:06
my wife pronounces suposedly as "suplosablee".. fuckin drives me crazy...
unless you can somehow read this baby, in which case I find it adorable!!!
sandman76
05-13-2013, 16:16
I used to work with this guy that had a million of these. My favorite is when he would say escape-goat instead of scapegoat.
hghclsswhitetrsh
05-13-2013, 16:28
Sounds like a rough life if this shit pisses you off.
My dad used to say 9 of 1 half a dozen of another,
jerrymrc
05-13-2013, 16:47
Along this vein and although I know how to do it both ways why is it that when a town takes names from somewhere else they always have to pronounce it differently?
Of course the springs has grown so fast the way the natives say it may soon be lost but the street here is pronounced Will-LAM-ette not Will-A-Mette.
Sorry but I grew up playing on the river that the street is named after. [Flower] And my wife from texas pronounces the l in Salmon. She never had it until she met me.
Aloha_Shooter
05-13-2013, 16:51
Isn't the word "stuff" already a plural. Thus, no need for "stuffs". So, is there a singular for stuff? Perhaps "miscellaneous crap". I'm only an old "high school dummy" so one of you learned folks can hopefully enlighten this old fart because I still have a LOT to learn. [blaster]
You can use "stuffs" if it's an active verb but no, use as a plural noun is an indicator of subpar education.
I used to be a big supporter of education -- hated "Dark Side of the Moon" because of the anti-education bent -- but it seems like many schools are indoctrination rather than education facilities these days. Unfortunately, that opinion doesn't go over well with my sister's or mother's friends who are still active teachers ... I'll feel bad about that over my next sip of coffee ...
Zundfolge
05-13-2013, 16:54
Along this vein and although I know how to do it both ways why is it that when a town takes names from somewhere else they always have to pronounce it differently?
I was born and raised in Wichita, Kansas ... on the east side of town one of the major roads is "Greenwich Road" ... locally it's pronounced "Green-Which" and that's always bugged the crap out of me. Also the fact that all references to streets, towns and rivers named "Arkansas" within the state of Kansas are pronounced "Are-Kansas" (that didn't bug me until I moved away and realized how silly it was).
Good to know about the Willamette thing though.
I used to be a big supporter of education -- hated "Dark Side of the Moon" because of the anti-education bent -...
You mean The Wall? [ROFL1]
sellersm
05-13-2013, 16:58
Pay no nevermind to the misattributing of the Pink Floyd album! [ROFL1]
KevDen2005
05-13-2013, 17:09
I hate when people say "it's a MUTE point." I want to correct them immediately.
People at work always say, "I am going to APPRAISE the supervisor of what's going on" instead of apprise. I have corrected numerous detectives of this....they hate that.
The sergeant major I had at PLDC on FT Knox used to say Pacific instead of Specific and Electric Lights instead of electrolytes.
BushMasterBoy
05-13-2013, 17:14
effing idioms!
USAFGopherMike
05-13-2013, 18:05
I'm no English major, but I hear these so often it drives me nuts. Makes me want to smack people and tell them that instead of impressing others with their attempt at vocabulary, they've just embarrassed themselves.
Bailey Guns
05-13-2013, 18:27
Sgt Dumas got an accommodation medal.
clublights
05-13-2013, 19:20
Reminds me of this ... NSFW due to language...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UACh3uTfjjU
Larry Ashcraft
05-13-2013, 19:34
"Sweating like a stuck pig" has always been one of my favorites
towns and rivers named "Arkansas" within the state of Kansas are pronounced "Are-Kansas" (that didn't bug me until I moved away and realized how silly it was)
That always bugged the crap out of me, but I think I mentioned that a time or two. [facepalm]
Isn't the word "stuff" already a plural. Thus, no need for "stuffs". So, is there a singular for stuff? Perhaps "miscellaneous crap". I'm only an old "high school dummy" so one of you learned folks can hopefully enlighten this old fart because I still have a LOT to learn. [blaster]
Stuff is plural, no 's'
Foodstuffs is a plural with an 's' in its proper usage.
I'm not aware of any other usages of 'stuff' as a noun, only the verb.
I have a counterpart at work who is from Texas. Here are just a few samples. "No point in kicking a dead dog". "I'm not going to let this get swept under the bus". "They're just kicking the dog down the road". Sometimes these will be stated in meetings with multiple attendees, everyone wonders why my face is red and tears in my eyes.
Blockhead
05-13-2013, 20:36
Ironical
Suposably
Mute point
[Rant1]
Goodburbon
05-13-2013, 20:45
Na'aam saying.
Nuffsaid
Those are a little off topic, so is this.
"To be" being left out of a sentence.
Examples:
The dishes need washed.
The dogs need fed.
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Can someone explain to me what the difference between 'crick' and 'creek' is... I'm not from the south, I actually had to google 'holler' once when I was younger because a southern gentleman said it and I didn't want to sound like an idiot (too late?).
Anyway, Zund, I love it! Thank you. I've heard people say butt and I always think "they said it wrong."
Not really idioms, but stupid people who mangle things (*cough*Co-worker*cough*) drive me nuts:
Netflix QUEUE not quos (wtf is that?)- also on the subject of Netflix, it's "streaming" not streamlining. There is no X in "especially." When you place "don't" improperly, such as when saying "He don't got no job," it makes you sound like a back water RETARD.
Sellersm- that link you posted, I find the messed up version of lyrics at the end hilarious:
The malapropism: "Excuse me while I kiss this guy." <-People actually think this???? [LOL]
The real lyrics: "Excuse me while I kiss the sky,” from Purple Haze, Jimi Hendrix
BushMasterBoy
05-13-2013, 20:56
Splodes!
Bailey Guns
05-13-2013, 21:43
The rebels are armed with a wide variety of weapontry.
All of those pretty "pitchers" at the museum.
"Here's you a glass of water"
"Go get you a glass of water"
Make yourself "comftrubble"
"Hope" and "change"
Oh yeah, and...
"most anybody will do it"
"Anymore, people are becoming dumber"
I hate when people say "it's a MUTE point." I want to correct them immediately.
People at work always say, "I am going to APPRAISE the supervisor of what's going on" instead of apprise. I have corrected numerous detectives of this....they hate that.
The sergeant major I had at PLDC on FT Knox used to say Pacific instead of Specific and Electric Lights instead of electrolytes.
We had a trainer that used to say Pacific, but I wasn't going to mention it. Glad that you did.
stevelkinevil
05-13-2013, 22:57
THANK GOD FOR THIS THREAD! several of mine have been covered. "mute" point is a big one.
Another one I have not seen yet. "bald faced lie" its "bold faced lie" who the hell cares if he shaved!
When receiving a single-finger salute, I prefer, "he flipped me off!" as opposed to, "he flicked me off!"
Orange County Chopper..."that's a good idear"
That there is an oxymormon.
Nuculer.
Dampening the damper.
Two bad too of you are to stupid.
Wife has finally broken the habit of "acrosst."
Had a college classmate repeatedly refer to "object poverty."
So, is it "Buck Naked" or "Butt Naked?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=X0aB-f_pHfs
When receiving a single-finger salute, I prefer, "he flipped me off!" as opposed to, "he flicked me off!"
Yes!
I think I say "nulculer," but I am not sure, As no one has ever corrected me, and it depends on how it flows in the sentence. For example, I pronounce Caribbean differently depending on if I am saying "I am going on a Caribbean cruise." Compared to "I am going to the Caribbean."
A few I've been corrected out of saying have been:
1) irregardless
2) should have went, instead of should have gone.
Richard K
05-13-2013, 23:45
I worked with a guy who misrenounced everthing.
He drove a Prymouth down high 70 and rused the passing lane, had stirloin snips for lunch. Had a groucho bed in his camper, a chimbley in his house, he had his cadillacs removed, his wife had ten feet of her testicles removed, he hated it when he found magnets on rotten meat, etc., etc..
Wife has finally broken the habit of "acrosst."
Had a college classmate repeatedly refer to "object poverty."
So, is it "Buck Naked" or "Butt Naked?"
It's Buck Naked.
NSFW
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMTQnTK4JKc
I have a boss that says, "from the gecko" instead of "from the get go". Maybe he has insurance from GEICO. He also uses "coming down the pipe" instead of "coming down the pike".
Worked in a liquor store in college with a lot of clientele that were asking for "A quart of Winston Canadian". They were asking for "A fifth of Windsor Canadian". I had a hell of time figuring that one out. A quart and liter seem a heckuvalot closer to each other than 3/4 of a liter.
...another was "Gibley's Gin". Sold a boatload of Tunderbird though.
My first wife had trouble pronouncing "hippopotamus" and it would make her seem to stutter. We settled on "Hip-mo-potus" and she was cute as hell saying it.
A co-worker's small son had trouble with "101 Dalmatians". They got one of the breed and he called it a "Dalmalmatian".
EX=presso, there is no GD X in espresso. And it is EX-specially annoying from people who are suposably coffee people.
Oh yeah, there is no F'en X in especially!
Zundfolge
05-14-2013, 08:54
EX=presso, there is no GD X in espresso. And it is EX-specially annoying from people who are suposably coffee people.
I actually saw "Expresso" on one of the over-the-isle signs at Walmart. I actually told the manager about that one. I don't think they ever fixed it (I'll have to check again on Friday when we get groceries).
In addition to mangled idioms, un-mangled but miss-used ones also annoy me.
My boss often uses "I'll be persona non grata" to mean he'll be out of the office (ironically its when he is IN the office he's persona non grata to the extreme). Also used to have a sales rep that used the phrase "I was out of pocket" to mean out of the office or out of communication ... I used to always reply "you were paying your own way?" He never understood what I was getting at.
ETA: Oh and people that over-use adverbs like "actually" ... and people that don't properly use ellipses ... can't STAND those people :p
People who think "per diem" means "one at a time".
Anybody who "misunderestimates" me.
People who use "variate" as a verb.
Bailey Guns
05-14-2013, 09:35
Orientate. Orientated.
'fustrated'
'warsh'
Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk. Hence all the misspellings and goofy word choices.
Orientate. Orientated.
This one irritates me too. Unfortunately, it's so common in it's (mis) usage that it's accepted generally as a substitute for "orient". It's even listed similarly in the dictionary.
HoneyBadger
05-14-2013, 09:43
I have an issue with people who add extra syllables to words, in addition to many of the grammar problems listed above. For example: People who say they are going to orientate themselves, instead of saying they will orient themselves.
Yesterday I heard a co-worker say he was conversating with his neighbor by his grill. Conversing. Not conversating. [Bang]
Also, I think we can thank ESPN for this one because it's actually in the dictionary now, but commentate is not (should not be) a word. ESPN has commentators, when in reality I believe they should be call commentors, because that is what they do: they comment.
'warsh'
My mother is from KS and uses "warsh" quite a bit... as kids my brother and I used to make fun of her.
sellersm
05-14-2013, 10:15
Prostate vs. prostrate!! One's a position (i.e,; prone), one's a part of the body (a gland)! Get it right...
Gotta admit though, the English language is kinda weird! Ever see the "I Love Lucy" episode where Ricky has to read?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMZsDaTxaKo
BlasterBob
05-14-2013, 10:35
My mother is from KS and uses "warsh" quite a bit... as kids my brother and I used to make fun of her.
Your Ma IS/WAS pronouncing it correctly. Washington, D.C. is also pronounced WaRshington.[LOL]
Reminds me of this ... NSFW due to language...
Beat me to it. First thing i thought of also.
CroiDhubh
05-14-2013, 11:31
How about "should of" instead of "should've". It isn't you "should of" done something, you should have done something. [facepalm]
RblDiver
05-14-2013, 12:45
How about "should of" instead of "should've". It isn't you "should of" done something, you should have done something. [facepalm]
I can just hear my 8th grade English teacher saying now... should HAVE should HAVE!
I suppose my biggest pet peeves are more written than spoken (I blame texting): u (you), r (are), 8 (ate), and so on.
Jeffrey Lebowski
05-14-2013, 13:17
#2 on here really bothers me. If I had to estimate in my own life experience, when I hear the word used - the ratio of #2 used to #1 has to be > 9:1.
#2 is a horrible definition to be contrary to #1.
27823
kidicarus13
05-16-2013, 07:16
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ornery
I'm not a Colorado native and it drives me crazy that 100% of you people say ON-ree, it's orn-ree. Click on the link to listen to the pronunciation. I'm just glad it's not a popular word.
BlasterBob
05-16-2013, 08:15
Out here it is known as insurance. Further East it is known as insurance. Hope this is NOT a repost.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ornery
I'm not a Colorado native and it drives me crazy that 100% of you people say ON-ree, it's orn-ree. Click on the link to listen to the pronunciation. I'm just glad it's not a popular word.
Actually, it is orn-a-ree. And i agree, I am glad it is not that popular. It just screams hillbilly.
KevDen2005
05-16-2013, 09:22
Actually, it is orn-a-ree. And i agree, I am glad it is not that popular. It just screams hillbilly.
I hate that word, I pronounce it wrong when I have used it but certainly don't use it unless I am repeating someone...it definitely has hillbilly written all over it.
Out here it is known as insurance. Further East it is known as insurance. Hope this is NOT a repost.
Uh not exactly... the proper pronunciation (I only deal with the word somewhere between 1 and 5000 times a day) is actually insureance. [Beer]
BlasterBob
05-16-2013, 09:37
Uh not exactly... the proper pronunciation (I only deal with the word somewhere between 1 and 5000 times a day) is actually insureance. [Beer]
Yeah, kinda like inshureance. I have had various types of insurance since about 1955 so I too am at least a littler familiar with the word - and I have paid a LOT into the various Ins. Co's. and seldom ever had to get any payouts..[LOL]
Oh, just one more. I [B]CAN'T hardly do this --- I CAN hardly do this.
Kraven251
05-16-2013, 10:17
Crick/Creek is a really rough one, means different things to different people.
Crick is often a small Creek, which is a different name for a Stream, though some say a Creek or Crick is a Stream that has large stones in it. Those are the words that I would love to know the origins of long term.
I have paid a LOT into the various Ins. Co's. and seldom ever had to get any payouts..[LOL][Beer]
Good for you!
Oh along with your can and can't hardly... not just "do this" but also "wait." Someone said it last weekend, "I can't hardly wait." I just responded with, "sounds like a personal problem."
planefixer
05-16-2013, 10:27
My Wife and my Grandfather both add a letter "t" to the end of the word "across" , as in "Its acrosst the street". They're both from Wisconsin so maybe its an Upper-Midwest thing, I don't know.
When my Tennessee-born Grandmother was still alive she would pronounce the L in salmon but not pronounce it in the word "bulb" so it sounded like "light bub".
Jeffrey Lebowski
05-16-2013, 11:32
My Wife and my Grandfather both add a letter "t" to the end of the word "across" , as in "Its acrosst the street". They're both from Wisconsin so maybe its an Upper-Midwest thing, I don't know.
No, but being from there, that really is a separate dialog of English between WI, the UP, and MN.
robertcolorado2009
05-16-2013, 11:45
My wife cannot say cunnilingus, she always says cunnilicious. No matter how hard she tries, she cannot get the word right. Probably because when I first introduced her to the word, I said it was actually pronounced cunnilicious, I was messing with her and said that the g was silent, well that's not even right, but she has it stuck in her head as cunnilicious. Hope that's not too "out there" for us here.
My wife cannot say cunnilingus, she always says cunnilicious. No matter how hard she tries, she cannot get the word right. Probably because when I first introduced her to the word, I said it was actually pronounced cunnilicious, I was messing with her and said that the g was silent, well that's not even right, but she has it stuck in her head as cunnilicious. Hope that's not too "out there" for us here.
TBH I've never had a women refer to it as cunnilingus... outside of science, I never hear the word come up. Pending any warnings from the mods, I've heard of other terms used: Rug munching, eating out, clam chowing, muff diving, tongue punching the fish taco, eating at the Y, licking the clam, box lunch, eating the fur pie, eating an egg mcmuff, tending the garden, one man band, slit licking, mustache ride... Okay, I think I'll stop now. [LOL]
HoneyBadger
05-16-2013, 12:23
TBH I've never had a women refer to it as cunnilingus... outside of science, I never hear the word come up. Pending any warnings from the mods, I've heard of other terms used: Rug munching, eating out, clam chowing, muff diving, tongue punching the fish taco, eating at the Y, licking the clam, box lunch, eating the fur pie, eating an egg mcmuff, tending the garden, one man band, slit licking, mustache ride... Okay, I think I'll stop now. [LOL]
C'mon guys, lets try to keep this at least a little bit civil... [mop]
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