People who get phrases wrong

[jimmy_]

I have so many friends who use cliché phrases until my ears bleed. Quite often even in the wrong context.

My sister just said "Play it by year" and when I informed her the phrase was "... by ear" she said to me "Ummm. No it's year" ha!



That's nothing compared to my friend who has been saying "mosewell" her whole life up until a few months ago, thinking that "mosewell" was in fact a real word. Her head almost exploded when I told her she meant "may as well".

Anyone else have friends who often use incorrect phrases or completely made up words??

[TheOldie]

How old are these people ?

My friends are all similar age so this doesnt really happen but the kids I work with
are shockers ! they have lots of phrases wrong/words wrong and when they send emails to clients its in the same lingo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! cant think of any off the top of my
arm :) hahahaaa but yep it happens.

[jimmy_]

! cant think of any off the top of my
arm :) hahahaaa but yep it happens.


aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahahhahahahahhahahahahaha

I'm going to use that.

[Dsquare]

Not exactly the same thing, but years ago when foccacia was THE big thing a friend and I always intentionaly pronounced it wrong, as in Foka-chia. Anyhoo, one day I was out for lunch with another friend and said I was going to have Foka-chia, and she said she would too as she hadn't had it before.

You can guess the rest. When the waiter came and my friend ordered Foka-chia I didn't know whether to piss myself laughing or hide under the table in shame.

[hazyinseptember]

Im hopeless at this shit.. so i have to put my hand up and say i was a major offender..

For years i was talking about "fox" fur .. and the "fakade" of a building.. when i meant faux and facade ..

it was the 'bain maree' of my life...

[jimmy_]

Im hopeless at this shit.. so i have to put my hand up and say i was a major offender..

For years i was talking about "fox" fur .. and the "fakade" of a building.. when i meant faux and facade ..

it was the 'bain maree' of my life...

At least you can admit to it! I'm sure I've been an offender a few times.

My sisters reply "No, it's by year".

Gah. Then she said "I'm not an idiom" when I explained it to her... I'm SURE she's messing with me with that one.

[hazyinseptember]

Not exactly the same thing, but years ago when foccacia was THE big thing a friend and I always intentionaly pronounced it wrong, as in Foka-chia. Anyhoo, one day I was out for lunch with another friend and said I was going to have Foka-chia, and she said she would too as she hadn't had it before.

You can guess the rest. When the waiter came and my friend ordered Foka-chia I didn't know whether to piss myself laughing or hide under the table in shame.

I can't help but giggle when people go to mexian and order 'Fajatas'... :D

My partners gradma loves 'Tar-Taray' sauce and 'Cappaceno's'

[Zakalwe]

I'm afraid that Kath & Kim actually made this sort of thing popular.

[Barrin]

"Cup of chino" always cracks me up. And have you ever tried to explain to anyone how they've got it wrong?
A friend of mine embarrassed me once by ordering a 'bar-gal' (bagel).

[guru_g]

You can't beat Dorrie Evans from Number 96 when it comes to getting phrases mixed up....

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~lindsay96/temp/Dorrie.jpg

"It's enough to drive a body beresk."

"I am quite ardamant about that."

"Speaking for myself, personally, alone..."

"I prefer to remain ambiguous."

"That is all my eye and Mary Martin."

"Life is not always a bowl of cherubs."

"That is a horse of an entirely different colour."

"Pardon me for protruding..."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PARTING COMMENT (in the last episode):

"We've passed a lot of water under the bridge."

[ammonite]

was she the original kath?

[guru_g]

was she the original kath?

LOL! Not quite. She was an original. She was the busy-body neighbour / caretaker of the building. Or "Concierge" as she liked to put it. She had a few pretensions!

Number 96 went from 72 - 77 and had the first openly Gay characters on Australian TV - including the first positive portrayal of a Gay man - Don Finlayson - who wasn't a mincing queen (not that there's anything wrong with that!) and who was a lawyer, reliable, rock-solid and someone people turned to for help.

I used to sneak next door at 8.30pm and watch 96 because it was banned in our house. For the first year anyway...until my parents got addicted to it :-)

[honey-prawns]

i love when service people say "today or"

it's like "or what"

"would you like a bag, or"
"just don't want it today, or"

[local_warming]

it was the 'bain maree' of my life...

ouch

[gold_femme]

' one foul swoop' ....its 'fell'

' nip it in the butt' ....its 'bud' , as in plants and cutting them before they grow.

i understand that language is always evolving and you cant be a snob about the way people adopt words and phrases, especially with mobile phone and internet shorthand seeping its way into all written forms of communication. at the same time, i also feel frustrated that people just haven't listened properly many times and adopt the incorrect versions rather than the correct.

some other words that annoy me...

' pacifically ' instead of specifically

' expecially ' instead of especially

and my personal love to hate....' turned around ' used frequently as ' and then i turned around and said to her..and she turned and around and said to me ' blah blah...how much turning around are people actually doing?



but how far do you take it? i dont use capitals and often miss punctuation....but i think if you know how to use it properly first then strip it back its different to using it incorrectly from the beginning..kinda like abstract art.


anyone still reading? :p

[jimmy_]

' one foul swoop' ....its 'fell'

' nip it in the butt' ....its 'bud' , as in plants and cutting them before they grow.

i understand that language is always evolving and you cant be a snob about the way people adopt words and phrases, especially with mobile phone and internet shorthand seeping its way into all written forms of communication. at the same time, i also feel frustrated that people just haven't listened properly many times and adopt the incorrect versions rather than the correct.

some other words that annoy me...

' pacifically ' instead of specifically

' expecially ' instead of especially

and my personal love to hate....' turned around ' used frequently as ' and then i turned around and said to her..and she turned and around and said to me ' blah blah...how much turning around are people actually doing?



but how far do you take it? i dont use capitals and often miss punctuation....but i think if you know how to use it properly first then strip it back its different to using it incorrectly from the beginning..kinda like abstract art.


anyone still reading? :p


Hahahhahaa I did read the whole thing but my mind started to drift off towards the end...

[Anthony Mahera]

I'm so one of these peeps. I'm cute and nieve, give me a break :p LOL

[gold_femme]

Hahahhahaa I did read the whole thing but my mind started to drift off towards the end...

ahahah..yeh i know, i get carried away sometimes..but ive just been away camping and we spent a good few hours talking about this topic. gee - sounds like a fun camping trip. ;)

[gold_femme]

I'm so one of these peeps. I'm cute and nieve, give me a break :p LOL


very cute....

but its 'naive'

lol

[honey-prawns]

some other words that annoy me...

' pacifically ' instead of specifically

a Specific cruise ?

[andrewesmitt]

Some of my friends do this, but they mispronounce words deliberately.

Phrases include...

absafruitley

using 'Mc' as a prefix of any adjective - Mcwin Mcfail Mcauburgine

using 'stein' as a suffix for any adjective - winstein failstein auberginestein

prostitutron

[wysiwyg_syd]

immagration
permanant
plurals and contractions/possessives (s and 's)
etc.

[ammonite]

it's the invention of spell check

it's rotting out brains

[wysiwyg_syd]

Which is correct?

a) You're as pedantic as she is.
b) You're as pedantic as her.
c) Both a) and b)
d) None of the above

[Ignorance77]

I hate when people add a "k" sound at the end of "ing" words...

"I need somethink to spit this in" or...

"there's nothink wrong with my pudgey starfish".

It really shits me to tears

[badamj2000]

OMG, its a loved Aussie expression! traitor!

[badamj2000]

Are we quibbling about accents and/or malapropisms?

Mispellings and misquotes should be frowned upon.

Neologisms? Slang? Are a different matter, me thinks

[wysiwyg_syd]

Having lived in another English-speaking country for years, I find it a bit odd tothat Aussies have the habit of adding an extra 'R' when pronouncing some words. "I saw it" would sound "I sawr it" and "drawing" sounds "drawring". On the other hand, the 'R' in words spelled with R in the end is omitted when pronounced. "Dinner" sounds "dinnah" and "super" sounds "supah". How ironic!

[wysiwyg_syd]

"I saw it with my own eyes."

[turnbullb]

I have so many friends who use cliché phrases until my ears bleed. Quite often even in the wrong context.

My sister just said "Play it by year" and when I informed her the phrase was "... by ear" she said to me "Ummm. No it's year" ha!



That's nothing compared to my friend who has been saying "mosewell" her whole life up until a few months ago, thinking that "mosewell" was in fact a real word. Her head almost exploded when I told her she meant "may as well".

Anyone else have friends who often use incorrect phrases or completely made up words??

Your sister is one smart chica Jimmy.
Doesn't it just make so much more sense using a time reference. I've had this exact argument with my friends before.
Eventually it will sink into the vernacular, everyone will be playing it by year and play it by ear will be off lying in the English graveyard next to the Subjunctive.

[wysiwyg_syd]

i also notice many people intechangeably use 'principal' and 'principle'

[Raoul Duke]

people who say "for all intensive purposes" it's intents and purposes guys!

[Barrin]

Just for the record "play it by ear" is a musical term for playing something without reading music. In other words, improvising. The phrase can be applied to other situations where you're comfortably carrying on with no definite plan. To change the phrase to "play it by year" suggests the opposite, that you do have a plan but it's over a long period.

[marky markywicz]

Not exactly the same thing, but years ago when foccacia was THE big thing a friend and I always intentionaly pronounced it wrong, as in Foka-chia. Anyhoo, one day I was out for lunch with another friend and said I was going to have Foka-chia, and she said she would too as she hadn't had it before.

You can guess the rest. When the waiter came and my friend ordered Foka-chia I didn't know whether to piss myself laughing or hide under the table in shame.

Crying with laughter D2
You can't beat Dorrie Evans from Number 96 when it comes to getting phrases mixed up....

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~lindsay96/temp/Dorrie.jpg

"It's enough to drive a body beresk."

"I am quite ardamant about that."

"Speaking for myself, personally, alone..."

"I prefer to remain ambiguous."

"That is all my eye and Mary Martin."

"Life is not always a bowl of cherubs."

"That is a horse of an entirely different colour."

"Pardon me for protruding..."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PARTING COMMENT (in the last episode):

"We've passed a lot of water under the bridge."

What a wonderful show, I have one last copy in my store of the movie and documentary of this show.

http://www.quicksales.com.au/buy/auction.aspx?itemid=10632628

[bascia2]

Having lived in another English-speaking country for years, I find it a bit odd tothat Aussies have the habit of adding an extra 'R' when pronouncing some words. "I saw it" would sound "I sawr it" and "drawing" sounds "drawring". On the other hand, the 'R' in words spelled with R in the end is omitted when pronounced. "Dinner" sounds "dinnah" and "super" sounds "supah". How ironic!

You mean like pronouncing Newcastle as Newcarstle?

I hate it when people pronounce it Newcastle (which is in England)! Those who live in Newcarstle (NSW) all pronounce it with the "r" sound. We should be proud of the Aussie drawl. Much better than the yank nasal twang and the poms have degenerated English much more than we have, dropping vowels and truncating (truncatin?) endings.:(

[mudley]

A pet hate of mine is '....you've got another THINK coming'.

Obviously, it's THING.

[Dsquare]

I'm more concerned that some guys here who have important jobs might be displaying their ignorance in their workplace with incorrect spelling.

I'm not into abstruse rules of grammar and I think it's OK to be flexible here on SS especially if peeps make spelling errors if they're on the iphone or they have a small screen.

I can live with spelling mistakes (I'm sure I make enough of my own), but one think I have noticed on SS is the indisciminate and innapropriate use of question marks. People seem to stick them on the end of any old sentence, whether it's a question, statement or whatever.

Is this perhaps the written version of the Australian upward inflection to end sentences?

[Anthony Mahera]

Sorry but if you have nothing better to do then to sit in front of a computer all day and correct peoples spelling mistakes on a forum you really need to get a life. So anal and not in a good way :p

I'm sooooo going to spell incorrectly on purpose now.

[Dsquare]

Sorry for making a simple observation. I'll crawl back into my box now.

[Anthony Mahera]

Sorry for making a simple observation. I'll crawl back into my box now.

LOL I'm sorry if I came across snappy. Hugs xo

[just_dance]

You mean like pronouncing Newcastle as Newcarstle?

I hate it when people pronounce it Newcastle (which is in England)! Those who live in Newcarstle (NSW) all pronounce it with the "r" sound. We should be proud of the Aussie drawl. Much better than the yank nasal twang and the poms have degenerated English much more than we have, dropping vowels and truncating (truncatin?) endings.:(

I quite like the Aussie drawl... I think that if Yankees and Poms can have their odd ways to say things, so can we! That said, I have a friend who arrived from England last night and I'm already picking up her accent! lol. I have a natural ability to pick up the English accent. I occasionally get mistaken for being English anyway! lol

[badamj2000]

Its true -the extra 'r' in words might be an Irish influence? Or a SW English thing?
Why is it ironic? I don't have a problem with it. But I agree it is peculiar .

[local_warming]

Sorry but if you have nothing better to do then to sit in front of a computer all day and correct peoples spelling mistakes on a forum you really need to get a life. So anal and not in a good way :p

I'm sooooo going to spell incorrectly on purpose now.

did someone say anal?

[badamj2000]

people who say "for all intensive purposes" it's intents and purposes guys!
I was guilty of that boo boo for years.

[badamj2000]

did someone say anal?
I don't know, would you like me to say 'anal'? :)

[badamj2000]

Sorry for making a simple observation. I'll crawl back into my box now.
People can be so unkind.

[Cyclone55]

You mean like pronouncing Newcastle as Newcarstle?

I hate it when people pronounce it Newcastle (which is in England)! Those who live in Newcarstle (NSW) all pronounce it with the "r" sound. We should be proud of the Aussie drawl. Much better than the yank nasal twang and the poms have degenerated English much more than we have, dropping vowels and truncating (truncatin?) endings.:(

It's only those poms who live in an around Newcastle in England that pronounce it Nucastle. Travel a little further south and they pronounce it Newcarstle.

As for the pom's degenerating the language, again it really depends where where abouts you go. So many accents there.

[Andytqou]

I hate hate hate "I Aksed"

[wysiwyg_syd]

i axed

[Cyclone55]

When people say "admittingly" instead of "admittedly"

[badamj2000]

I just hate...

[wysiwyg_syd]

when people say "shit" instead of "fucking bullshit"

[wysiwyg_syd]

how come in australia it's "program" instead of "programme" as the poms do?

[Andytqou]

when people say "shit" instead of "fucking bullshit"

or even worse - they say "shit" when they should be saying "for fucks sakes"..... nothing like bangin out the old f.f.s.......

[ilbonito]

I see "ect" instead of "etc" quite a bit lately ....

[marky markywicz]

Must bump this for D2's Foka-chia post LOL

[VladTheImpaler]

I am astounded!

[sesame]

This is the work of the Devil.

[chad_74]

By being a multicultural country with many immigrants and dialects merging the basis of our language has to be corrupted.The only solution is ethnic cleansing but that's not a very popular alternative.

[faeriegoddess]

http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/another-think-coming.html

I dislike when people go to a cafe and order Expresso.

When I was a child, my mother would often say "As a mattra fact". Having learned English from her, I used it too. Once, when writing my homework, at about age 9, I asked my mother how to spell the phrase. "M-A-T-R-A. Oh, akshully, I think it's got two Ts in it." Came the reply. Of course my teacher corrected me, and thus began my journey into pedanthood.

[Anthony Mahera]

People need to know what the word sereal actually means. :rolleyes:

[katie0912]

I was in the ambos with a guy who used to write 'bowels' instead of bowls on our reports when we picked up a patient at the local bowls club. He'd also write 'arouse' instead of 'rouse', eg, 'Husband called 000 when he couldn't arouse his wife'.

Some of his sayings:

'like a rat up a downpipe'

'that really gets up my goat'

'I'd like to want to know about that' -- not a mangled saying as such but one I've adopted as meaning 'I might be interested in ten yrs or so' :)

[Gloomis666]

People need to know what the word sereal actually means. :rolleyes:

surreal, cereal, serial....?

[pho3nixphir3]

Not exactly the same thing, but years ago when foccacia was THE big thing a friend and I always intentionaly pronounced it wrong, as in Foka-chia. Anyhoo, one day I was out for lunch with another friend and said I was going to have Foka-chia, and she said she would too as she hadn't had it before.

You can guess the rest. When the waiter came and my friend ordered Foka-chia I didn't know whether to piss myself laughing or hide under the table in shame.

i work at a sandwich store. the number of ways people find to pronounce this word.... *facepalm*

[genkij]

one guy ... my office ...It's in the EY Male .

[JustDax]

This reminds me of a recent episode of the American sitcom "According to Jim" which was based around the fact that his wife thought "wheelbarrow" was pronounced "wheelbarrell"...

Not quite the same, but both my sons who are adults now have a lot of trouble with the word FROTH - it comes out THROF everytime, and they just look at me blankly when I try to point out that they have it wrong.

Come to think of it, my eldest son and many of his friends also seem to be using the word "well" instead of "will" both in writing and in speech e.g. "I well get there at 8pm"...not sure if this is just a local issue or whether all younguns are doing it!