The mangling of idomatic expressions (a minor rant and call for commiseration)

[Irving]

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]

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!

[fj605]

When receiving a single-finger salute, I prefer, "he flipped me off!" as opposed to, "he flicked me off!"

[Ah Pook]

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.

[davsel]

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?"

[Irving]

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]

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..

[Ah Pook]

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

[Gman]

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".

[mtnhack]

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!