April 13th, 2024 – Common Idioms Misheard or Misused
English is a complicated language. I never fully understood that until I started teaching it to other people. When you speak your mother tongue, you don’t always realize how difficult it can be for people to learn your language because the ways in which it doesn’t make sense have always seemed natural to you.
However, things like idioms are a cultural invention. It has nothing to do with language, but everything to do with recall and contextual accuracy. Many languages have idioms that have the same meaning in obviously different words, and in every language, there is always someone who is bound to get them wrong.
Today, I want to show you some of the funniest examples I have found of people getting common idioms wrong, or misusing them.
Most Annoying
Let’s start with the misused or misheard idioms that annoy me the most.
“I could care less”
This one bothers me when I hear it. People use this phrase when they’re trying to say that something doesn’t bother them and that they are unphased by the way a situation plays out. However, to say you COULD care less is saying that you’re not unbothered, you do in fact have some feelings toward this situation. The level at which you currently care could be less than it is. But do you want me to believe it’s zero?
You should be saying, “I couldn’t care less.” This implies that you have zero attachment to this situation and that the level at which you care can not possibly go any lower.
“Complete 360”
A circle is 360 degrees. If you did a 360, you’d spin all the way around and end up right back where you started. No change. When you’re trying to use this phrase to describe the ways in which someone has changed completely, using 360 won’t illustrate your point.
The phrase you’re looking for is “a complete 180.” If you spin 180 degrees, you end up with your back to the original position, and you’re facing the opposite direction. You start north, now you’re pointing south. This is the phrase that will illustrate the point you’re trying to make. This phrase is often used to describe when someone has made revolutionary and unrecognizable changes, they have become the opposite of what they were before. To use “a complete 360,” you’re saying no change has occurred.
“For all intensive purposes”
My apologies, I had no idea your purposes were meant to be so highly regarded. The original phrase, “for all intents and purposes” is meant to explain the practical reasons for something. The phrase is one way to replace the phrase, “essentially” in a sentence. When you say, “for all intensive purposes” you make it sound like your specific purposes are incredibly demanding, and you give much more emphasis to your point than I am sure you intended. As well, you’re not making the point you intended to make in the first place.
“Pull yourself up by the bootstraps”
The amount of problems I have with this phrase is vast and continues to grow the more I look into it. This is by far one of the most detrimental examples of a misheard or misused idiom that I have come across.
This phrasing is right, however, the point it intends to make is impossible. When this phrase was originally coined, it was meant to express a task that is impossible and would only be attempted by a fool. Physically and literally, you cannot pull yourself by bootstraps. Imagine it. It really is a funny image.
Today, we use this phrase to attempt to tell people that they need to just work harder, do more, be better, take more accountability, and then they’ll be able to alleviate their own problems. Well, it should surprise no one that this is also an impossible task in a lot of instances.
Now we use this phrase to try and manipulate or guilt people into believing that they can get themselves out of certain situations that are meant to destroy them. Sometimes you just can’t do anything. The amount of choices you have is low and the effectiveness of those choices is even lower. People like to use this phrase to infer that people are simply lazy, or not doing enough. When in reality, sometimes there really is nothing that can be done.
The system is broken, and we need to fix it. But while it remains broken, people are suffering under the weight of unsolvable problems. Don’t tell a single mom who works three jobs and doesn’t make enough money to feed her kids that she just needs to “pull herself up by her bootstraps and do the work.”
Funniest
Now let’s move off of that topic and start talking about the misheard and misused idioms that always make me laugh.
“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it”
This is more an example of mixing idioms more so than misheard or misused idioms, but it always makes me laugh. “Crossing that bridge when we get to it” implies that you shouldn’t worry about things before they’ve even happened. “Burning bridges” refers to severing the relationships you have with people to a point where you can no longer reach each other for any reason. This mixing of idioms indicates that before you even get to the bridge to decide how you’re going to handle it, you’ve decided you’re going to burn it down. That idea always gives me a chuckle.
“Taken for granite”
Granite must be very valuable in your life. The original phrase is meant to be “Taken for granted” which implies that a person or thing is valued too little than their true worth. People use this phrase when they feel they are being taken advantage of or are not being appreciated.
Granite can be a very expensive stone. If someone says they are being “taken for granite” it states they are actually being treated very well. Treated as well or valued as much as granite. It cannot be correctly used in the same instance as “taken for granted.”
“It’s a mute point”
This one is so wrong it’s almost right.
This is an incorrect phrasing of the idiom, “It’s a moot point,” which means that the point someone is making doesn’t matter, is not relevant, or adds very little value. “Mute” means silent. So, if the point you are trying to make is a silent one, wouldn’t that mean no one can hear it and it brings very little value to the conversation?
It’s still very funny to imagine an instance where someone is attempting to make a point and cannot because the point itself is silent and refuses to be heard.
“It’s a doggy dog world”
This one kills me. It is so opposite to the intended meaning of the idiom that I can’t help but laugh when I hear it.
The original phrase is, “It’s a dog-eat-dog world.” This phrase indicates that people in a certain situation will do anything to become successful, even if it means causing harm to others who they deem “in the way.” People like to use this as an excuse for their detrimental behavior towards others.
However, the phrase “doggy dog world” seems so absent of any of that sinister nature. When I try to think of what a “doggy dog” world would be like, I can only think of golden retriever people who always want love, and attention, and are always happy all the time. People who just radiate sunshine.
They could not be more opposite to each other, and it always makes me laugh. Especially when someone is so serious in their attempt to use this phrase, and they say, “Doggy dog world.” Oh boy.
Conclusion
English is a funny language. It is a complicated language, and it varies from culture to culture. Idioms are a part of each of these cultures, and they are very easy to get wrong. Sometimes they’re almost right, other times, they’re just hilarious.
I hope you liked this post. If you did, make sure to leave a comment down below and check back for a new post on the Next Step Scopist blog!
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