Mistaken Sayings, Proverbs, etymology
Nancy Machaj
"not in one foul swoop."
That was in a recent post.
I'm pretty sure the saying is "one fell swoop"...uh oh, I went and
checked and it seems that foul *is* replacing fell. I thought that
fell meant quickly, not evilly!
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-fel1.htm
This reminds me of a funny story. My husband has a phrase "all talk
and no haircut", which I thought referred to a barber who talked to
much and didnt do his job. I used the phrase talking to Deb C. at the
Live n Learn conference this past month. She said she'd never heard
it before.
well...turns out that I've been mis-hearing it from my husband, and
it's really "all talk *and* a haircut" and my husband said it refers
to a cop, and it kind of means all bluster and a uniform, or
something to that effect. Not how I heard it or used it AT ALL! lol
I guess I should have my hearing checked because my mother in law
always says things are like "tits on a bull" (useless) but for YEARS
I thought she was saying "tits on a bowl" and while I understood that
meant useless, I didnt really get it. :)
Once on a message board, a woman told a story about how someone
called her child a toe-head and she was totally disgusted and enraged.
We assured her that the person surely meant towhead which refers to a
blond haired person.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towhead
anyone else have sayings or phrases that they have messed up or have
seen others egregiously ruin?
nancy, learning stuff on wikipedia tonight, out of my own curiousity :)
*****
blogging at:
http://happychildhood.homeschooljournal.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
That was in a recent post.
I'm pretty sure the saying is "one fell swoop"...uh oh, I went and
checked and it seems that foul *is* replacing fell. I thought that
fell meant quickly, not evilly!
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-fel1.htm
This reminds me of a funny story. My husband has a phrase "all talk
and no haircut", which I thought referred to a barber who talked to
much and didnt do his job. I used the phrase talking to Deb C. at the
Live n Learn conference this past month. She said she'd never heard
it before.
well...turns out that I've been mis-hearing it from my husband, and
it's really "all talk *and* a haircut" and my husband said it refers
to a cop, and it kind of means all bluster and a uniform, or
something to that effect. Not how I heard it or used it AT ALL! lol
I guess I should have my hearing checked because my mother in law
always says things are like "tits on a bull" (useless) but for YEARS
I thought she was saying "tits on a bowl" and while I understood that
meant useless, I didnt really get it. :)
Once on a message board, a woman told a story about how someone
called her child a toe-head and she was totally disgusted and enraged.
We assured her that the person surely meant towhead which refers to a
blond haired person.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towhead
anyone else have sayings or phrases that they have messed up or have
seen others egregiously ruin?
nancy, learning stuff on wikipedia tonight, out of my own curiousity :)
*****
blogging at:
http://happychildhood.homeschooljournal.net
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
emiLy Q.
My dad said "tits on a boar hog" :)
I ran across one earlier this evening. Oh, took me a while to remember and
find it. This is from this page: http://sandradodd.com/writing A
beautiful piece of writing!
" The building I got dropped off at was way more familiar that I would have
liked. A four-story apartment building with crumbling cement stairs, broken
windows covered with plastic, and a rusted old rod iron fence around a
pathetic excuse for a garden. I entered through a front door that was much
shorter than I remembered. "
I'm pretty sure she means a rusted old wrought iron. (Or wraught, which is
how I wanted to spell it but Microsoft doesn't agree with me, but turns out
that's correct too at least according to
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_wrought_iron_and_wr
aught_iron )
-emiLy, mom to Delia (4.5) & Henry (1)
Babies are BORN potty trained!
http://www.BornPottyTrained.com
I ran across one earlier this evening. Oh, took me a while to remember and
find it. This is from this page: http://sandradodd.com/writing A
beautiful piece of writing!
" The building I got dropped off at was way more familiar that I would have
liked. A four-story apartment building with crumbling cement stairs, broken
windows covered with plastic, and a rusted old rod iron fence around a
pathetic excuse for a garden. I entered through a front door that was much
shorter than I remembered. "
I'm pretty sure she means a rusted old wrought iron. (Or wraught, which is
how I wanted to spell it but Microsoft doesn't agree with me, but turns out
that's correct too at least according to
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_wrought_iron_and_wr
aught_iron )
-emiLy, mom to Delia (4.5) & Henry (1)
Babies are BORN potty trained!
http://www.BornPottyTrained.com
On 9/29/08 11:55 PM, "Nancy Machaj" <nmachaj@...> wrote:
> "not in one foul swoop."
>
> That was in a recent post.
> I'm pretty sure the saying is "one fell swoop"...uh oh, I went and
> checked and it seems that foul *is* replacing fell. I thought that
> fell meant quickly, not evilly!
>
> http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-fel1.htm
>
> This reminds me of a funny story. My husband has a phrase "all talk
> and no haircut", which I thought referred to a barber who talked to
> much and didnt do his job. I used the phrase talking to Deb C. at the
> Live n Learn conference this past month. She said she'd never heard
> it before.
> well...turns out that I've been mis-hearing it from my husband, and
> it's really "all talk *and* a haircut" and my husband said it refers
> to a cop, and it kind of means all bluster and a uniform, or
> something to that effect. Not how I heard it or used it AT ALL! lol
>
> I guess I should have my hearing checked because my mother in law
> always says things are like "tits on a bull" (useless) but for YEARS
> I thought she was saying "tits on a bowl" and while I understood that
> meant useless, I didnt really get it. :)
>
> Once on a message board, a woman told a story about how someone
> called her child a toe-head and she was totally disgusted and enraged.
> We assured her that the person surely meant towhead which refers to a
> blond haired person.
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towhead
>
> anyone else have sayings or phrases that they have messed up or have
> seen others egregiously ruin?
>
> nancy, learning stuff on wikipedia tonight, out of my own curiousity :)
>
>
> *****
> blogging at:
> http://happychildhood.homeschooljournal.net
>
Sandra Dodd
-=-and a rusted old rod iron fence-=-
Oh! She surely meant wrought iron. My niece Gina wrote that. And
what makes it cooler is that her dad is a welder who has made a LOT
of very cool iron gates and fences for fancy houses and government
buildings in Santa Fe.
My dad was a welder too. Here is what welders work with: welding rod.
So I'm guessing she confused the two. And in the local accent,
there's not much difference in sound between "rod iron" and "wrought
iron." It's not going to have a hard "t" sound.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Oh! She surely meant wrought iron. My niece Gina wrote that. And
what makes it cooler is that her dad is a welder who has made a LOT
of very cool iron gates and fences for fancy houses and government
buildings in Santa Fe.
My dad was a welder too. Here is what welders work with: welding rod.
So I'm guessing she confused the two. And in the local accent,
there's not much difference in sound between "rod iron" and "wrought
iron." It's not going to have a hard "t" sound.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
In a message dated 9/30/2008 12:55:52 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
nmachaj@... writes:
<<<anyone else have sayings or phrases that they have messed up or have
seen others egregiously ruin?>>>
Not that it is a "saying", but the one that really bugs me is
"irregardless". I have a friend who says that and when I remind her that the term is
"regardless", she shrugs and carelessly says, "Oh, I know..." Oh, and "I could care
less" when folks really mean "I couldn't care less".
Dave crosses words sometimes when he's using sayings. The first time he came
to my house to meet my parents, he was explaining to me how smart his little
sister was, "She has a mind like a trap door" he said. It still makes me
smile, today. And that could work-stuff/information falling into a trap door and
not coming back out, it just sounded so funny hearing similar-sounding, but
different words in that common saying.
Then there are the funny ones (on purpose) on Lion King, like when Pumba
says, "You've got to put your behind in your past." which for the longest time,
I thought he was saying "You've got to put your behind in your *pants*",
which sounds almost exactly the same, but has quite a different meaning! :~D (I
still like "pants" better!) Pumba also says to Simba when he finds out he's
really "the king", "I gravel at your feet", which I find funny not only because
it sounds so close, but that's where gravel usually is-at your feet! :~D
Peace,
De
**************Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial
challenges? Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and
calculators. (http://www.walletpop.com/?NCID=emlcntuswall00000001)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
nmachaj@... writes:
<<<anyone else have sayings or phrases that they have messed up or have
seen others egregiously ruin?>>>
Not that it is a "saying", but the one that really bugs me is
"irregardless". I have a friend who says that and when I remind her that the term is
"regardless", she shrugs and carelessly says, "Oh, I know..." Oh, and "I could care
less" when folks really mean "I couldn't care less".
Dave crosses words sometimes when he's using sayings. The first time he came
to my house to meet my parents, he was explaining to me how smart his little
sister was, "She has a mind like a trap door" he said. It still makes me
smile, today. And that could work-stuff/information falling into a trap door and
not coming back out, it just sounded so funny hearing similar-sounding, but
different words in that common saying.
Then there are the funny ones (on purpose) on Lion King, like when Pumba
says, "You've got to put your behind in your past." which for the longest time,
I thought he was saying "You've got to put your behind in your *pants*",
which sounds almost exactly the same, but has quite a different meaning! :~D (I
still like "pants" better!) Pumba also says to Simba when he finds out he's
really "the king", "I gravel at your feet", which I find funny not only because
it sounds so close, but that's where gravel usually is-at your feet! :~D
Peace,
De
**************Looking for simple solutions to your real-life financial
challenges? Check out WalletPop for the latest news and information, tips and
calculators. (http://www.walletpop.com/?NCID=emlcntuswall00000001)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Joyce Fetteroll
In a message dated 9/30/2008 12:55:52 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
nmachaj@... writes:
<<<anyone else have sayings or phrases that they have messed up or have
seen others egregiously ruin?>>>
Not a saying but someone recently posted that some parents can't give
up the dillusion of control.
I thought that was awesome! A combination of delusion and illusion.
Deluded by the illusion of control :-)
There's a couple of books by Gavin Edwards:
'Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy
He's Got the Whole World In His Pants
filled with misheard lyrics. :-)
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
nmachaj@... writes:
<<<anyone else have sayings or phrases that they have messed up or have
seen others egregiously ruin?>>>
Not a saying but someone recently posted that some parents can't give
up the dillusion of control.
I thought that was awesome! A combination of delusion and illusion.
Deluded by the illusion of control :-)
There's a couple of books by Gavin Edwards:
'Scuse Me While I Kiss This Guy
He's Got the Whole World In His Pants
filled with misheard lyrics. :-)
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Pamela Sorooshian
My grandfather wrote the welding textbook that was used in almost
every welding program in the United States for about 25 or 30 years.
It was published in 1944 by McGraw-Hill - "Arc and Acetylene Welding,"
by Harry Kerwin (my pre-marriage name was Pam Kerwin).
I have a copy of it (bought it on e-bay). Most of it is technical, of
course, but I love it because the writing is old-fashioned and sweet
and earnest just like my grandpa was. After he wrote this book, he
went to college (so did my grandmother). They then went into the
foreign service and helped establish vocational education programs in
several countries - first was Libya and then Iran and then Turkey. My
grandfather was also part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission to
Cyprus. He learned to speak, fairly fluently, Arabic, Farsi, and
Turkish. When he "retired" they moved to Sacramento, California, and
he served as an advisor on vocational education to the California
State Superintendent of Education.
The book starts out with "The Welder's Pledge."
I, ____________, desire to be known as a first-class welder. I
understand the obligations and responsibilities placed upon me. I
realize that great property damage and possibly loss of life may
result from a poor weld. Therefore I pledge myself to the following
articles:
1. Never to be guilty of knowingly making a poor weld.
2. To report immediately to my superior any weld that I believe is not
thoroughly dependable for the service for which it is intended.
3. To do all in my power to advance the cause of welding.
4. To give my employer, at all times, my best effort, loyal service,
and honest workmanship.
5. To strive each day to increase my knowledge and skill in the art of
welding.
6. To extend all possible assistance to welders less proficient than
myself.
7. Realizing the appearance as well as quality is important in a weld,
always strive to improve my workmanship.
8. Always to be punctual.
9. To the best of my ability to work in harmony with my fellow workers.
10. To expect a wage commensurate with my ability.
-pam
every welding program in the United States for about 25 or 30 years.
It was published in 1944 by McGraw-Hill - "Arc and Acetylene Welding,"
by Harry Kerwin (my pre-marriage name was Pam Kerwin).
I have a copy of it (bought it on e-bay). Most of it is technical, of
course, but I love it because the writing is old-fashioned and sweet
and earnest just like my grandpa was. After he wrote this book, he
went to college (so did my grandmother). They then went into the
foreign service and helped establish vocational education programs in
several countries - first was Libya and then Iran and then Turkey. My
grandfather was also part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission to
Cyprus. He learned to speak, fairly fluently, Arabic, Farsi, and
Turkish. When he "retired" they moved to Sacramento, California, and
he served as an advisor on vocational education to the California
State Superintendent of Education.
The book starts out with "The Welder's Pledge."
I, ____________, desire to be known as a first-class welder. I
understand the obligations and responsibilities placed upon me. I
realize that great property damage and possibly loss of life may
result from a poor weld. Therefore I pledge myself to the following
articles:
1. Never to be guilty of knowingly making a poor weld.
2. To report immediately to my superior any weld that I believe is not
thoroughly dependable for the service for which it is intended.
3. To do all in my power to advance the cause of welding.
4. To give my employer, at all times, my best effort, loyal service,
and honest workmanship.
5. To strive each day to increase my knowledge and skill in the art of
welding.
6. To extend all possible assistance to welders less proficient than
myself.
7. Realizing the appearance as well as quality is important in a weld,
always strive to improve my workmanship.
8. Always to be punctual.
9. To the best of my ability to work in harmony with my fellow workers.
10. To expect a wage commensurate with my ability.
-pam
On Sep 29, 2008, at 11:00 PM, Sandra Dodd wrote:
>
> My dad was a welder too. Here is what welders work with: welding
> rod.
> So I'm guessing she confused the two. And in the local accent,
> there's not much difference in sound between "rod iron" and "wrought
> iron." It's not going to have a hard "t" sound.
Sandra Dodd
-=-My grandfather wrote the welding textbook that was used in almost
every welding program in the United States for about 25 or 30 years.
It was published in 1944 by McGraw-Hill - "Arc and Acetylene Welding,"
by Harry Kerwin (my pre-marriage name was Pam Kerwin).-=-
That's about the time my dad rode a motorcycle from Rotan, Texas to
San Francisco to work in the shipyards. That where he first learned
to weld.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
every welding program in the United States for about 25 or 30 years.
It was published in 1944 by McGraw-Hill - "Arc and Acetylene Welding,"
by Harry Kerwin (my pre-marriage name was Pam Kerwin).-=-
That's about the time my dad rode a motorcycle from Rotan, Texas to
San Francisco to work in the shipyards. That where he first learned
to weld.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Robin Bentley
> anyone else have sayings or phrases that they have messed up or haveMy sil says "Six of one, half does the other."
> seen others egregiously ruin?
Robin B.
P.S. "Tits on a bowl" - that needed a spew alert <g>. I have seen them
on some racy coffee mugs, though. LOL
>
>
Three Mommies
On of my favorites is a sign at a passenger drop off for the MARTA in
Atlanta:
Kiss and ride. No Busses.
Peace,
Jean Elizabeth
http://3mommies.blogspot.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Atlanta:
Kiss and ride. No Busses.
Peace,
Jean Elizabeth
http://3mommies.blogspot.com
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
cyrusnmayasmama
> > anyone else have sayings or phrases that they have messed up or haveOne of my favorites comes from my son when he was about 3 or 4. He mixed "got your goat"
> > seen others egregiously ruin?
and "yanking my chain" and and would regularly say, "stop yanking my goats!" The whole
family uses it now.
~Alyse
Sandra Dodd
-=-One of my favorites comes from my son when he was about 3 or 4. He
mixed "got your goat"
and "yanking my chain" and and would regularly say, "stop yanking my
goats!" The whole
family uses it now.-=-
That's a good one. I have a little piece of paper stuck to the wall
here that Holly wrote for me, after she said it and I thought it was
so cute, years ago. "The best thing since burnt toast." (?!)
Once a friend of mine had said something he shouldn't have said, in
front of people who weren't supposed to know it. I said on purpose
to try to lighten the moment "Now you've let the beans out of the
cat" and that stuck in that group of friends for years.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
mixed "got your goat"
and "yanking my chain" and and would regularly say, "stop yanking my
goats!" The whole
family uses it now.-=-
That's a good one. I have a little piece of paper stuck to the wall
here that Holly wrote for me, after she said it and I thought it was
so cute, years ago. "The best thing since burnt toast." (?!)
Once a friend of mine had said something he shouldn't have said, in
front of people who weren't supposed to know it. I said on purpose
to try to lighten the moment "Now you've let the beans out of the
cat" and that stuck in that group of friends for years.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
lyeping2008
My hubby like to exclaim "what a muppet!" when he sees a bad driver on
the road. When DS was younger, he'll tell people we've just spotted a
muppet driving on the road LOL!!
One day, the realisation clicked for son when his dad again curse
another irresponsible driver cutting infront of him at high speed. DS
by now realised that muppets don't drive and asked in confusion "why
would a muppet be driving a car when they obviously can't? LOL!
We had to explain muppet was just a word mummy and daddy used for
silly drivers. Just like "what a donkey!".
Hugs,
SharonBugs
the road. When DS was younger, he'll tell people we've just spotted a
muppet driving on the road LOL!!
One day, the realisation clicked for son when his dad again curse
another irresponsible driver cutting infront of him at high speed. DS
by now realised that muppets don't drive and asked in confusion "why
would a muppet be driving a car when they obviously can't? LOL!
We had to explain muppet was just a word mummy and daddy used for
silly drivers. Just like "what a donkey!".
Hugs,
SharonBugs
Margaret
That reminds me of one that my little brother used to say...
Once when he was 2 or 3 he was very frustrated about doing something
wrong and said "Och! I could hit mine head with a snake." (he was
the youngest of 5 and a very verbal kid). It isn't used regularly,
but we all remember it, love it, and say it every now and then. I
don't think it was a tangled saying that he repeated. I have no idea
how he put it together, but I love it.
Once when he was 2 or 3 he was very frustrated about doing something
wrong and said "Och! I could hit mine head with a snake." (he was
the youngest of 5 and a very verbal kid). It isn't used regularly,
but we all remember it, love it, and say it every now and then. I
don't think it was a tangled saying that he repeated. I have no idea
how he put it together, but I love it.
On Thu, Oct 2, 2008 at 7:17 PM, cyrusnmayasmama <inglis5@...> wrote:
>
>> > anyone else have sayings or phrases that they have messed up or have
>> > seen others egregiously ruin?
>
> One of my favorites comes from my son when he was about 3 or 4. He mixed
> "got your goat"
> and "yanking my chain" and and would regularly say, "stop yanking my goats!"
> The whole
> family uses it now.
> ~Alyse
Nancy Machaj
---My hubby like to exclaim "what a muppet!" when he sees a bad
driver on
the road. When DS was younger, he'll tell people we've just spotted a
muppet driving on the road LOL!! ---
I should adopt that. I called another driver a "dickwad" once, and
now my 4 year old daughter says it all the time.
Oy vey.
:)
Nancy
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
driver on
the road. When DS was younger, he'll tell people we've just spotted a
muppet driving on the road LOL!! ---
I should adopt that. I called another driver a "dickwad" once, and
now my 4 year old daughter says it all the time.
Oy vey.
:)
Nancy
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
k
Well.. you could do the euphemistic version..... Dip wad.
She might even think she misheard the 1st version and adopt that one. Worth
a try anyway.
~Katherine
She might even think she misheard the 1st version and adopt that one. Worth
a try anyway.
~Katherine
On 10/3/08, Nancy Machaj <nmachaj@...> wrote:
>
>
> ---My hubby like to exclaim "what a muppet!" when he sees a bad
> driver on
> the road. When DS was younger, he'll tell people we've just spotted a
> muppet driving on the road LOL!! ---
>
> I should adopt that. I called another driver a "dickwad" once, and
> now my 4 year old daughter says it all the time.
> Oy vey.
>
> :)
>
> Nancy
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=-Well.. you could do the euphemistic version..... Dip wad.-=-
I think this is an example of the other way around. Dip wad has to
do with dipping snuff or chewing tobacco or some such. After that
didn't make sense to younger people, they started making it something
nastier.
I can't think of another example, but I know there are a few, of
something slightly insulting being transformed (gradually or for
fun?) to something nastier, and then catching on.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I think this is an example of the other way around. Dip wad has to
do with dipping snuff or chewing tobacco or some such. After that
didn't make sense to younger people, they started making it something
nastier.
I can't think of another example, but I know there are a few, of
something slightly insulting being transformed (gradually or for
fun?) to something nastier, and then catching on.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
emiLy Q.
Last fall we had 9 kittens and my daughter always said she was going to go
"check an eye" on them. :)
Also, a few summers ago, she told her grandma that "tourists are the people
that don't let my dad park." LOL
-emiLy, mom to Delia (4.5) & Henry (1)
Babies are BORN potty trained!
http://www.BornPottyTrained.com
"check an eye" on them. :)
Also, a few summers ago, she told her grandma that "tourists are the people
that don't let my dad park." LOL
-emiLy, mom to Delia (4.5) & Henry (1)
Babies are BORN potty trained!
http://www.BornPottyTrained.com
jenbgosh
--- In [email protected], Nancy Machaj <nmachaj@...> wrote:
a bandit", and "scream like a banshee" that makes no sense.
We're not from Wisconsin, but we live here now. Folks up here say
"Bubbler" for water fountain, and instead of describing a situation
where there is no difference between choices as "six of one, half a
dozen of the other," they say "it's a horse apiece." Whaaaa?
My favorite mixed up saying was from my DS when he was 5 or 6. He
wanted a bedtime snack of toast. Then he wanted more toast and more
toast. He was eating so many pieces of toast I asked him if he was
really hungry. And he said, "Yes, I'm an endless armpit!" It took me
a few minutes to figure out he meant "bottomless pit."
Jennie
> anyone else have sayings or phrases that they have messed up or haveMy husband says, "Made out like a banshee," a combo of "made out like
> seen others egregiously ruin?
>
a bandit", and "scream like a banshee" that makes no sense.
We're not from Wisconsin, but we live here now. Folks up here say
"Bubbler" for water fountain, and instead of describing a situation
where there is no difference between choices as "six of one, half a
dozen of the other," they say "it's a horse apiece." Whaaaa?
My favorite mixed up saying was from my DS when he was 5 or 6. He
wanted a bedtime snack of toast. Then he wanted more toast and more
toast. He was eating so many pieces of toast I asked him if he was
really hungry. And he said, "Yes, I'm an endless armpit!" It took me
a few minutes to figure out he meant "bottomless pit."
Jennie
Robyn L. Coburn
"Bubbler" is Australian for water fountain too.
Gosh I got a chuckle out of the endless armpit!
Robyn L. Coburn
www.Iggyjingles.etsy.com
www.iggyjingles.blogspot.com
Gosh I got a chuckle out of the endless armpit!
Robyn L. Coburn
www.Iggyjingles.etsy.com
www.iggyjingles.blogspot.com
Ren Allen
> anyone else have sayings or phrases that they have messed up or haveWell, it's a word, not a phrase but....
> seen others egregiously ruin?
>
I can't stand it when someone says "WA-la" for VOILA. Like nails on a
chalkboard.
We have a new favourite English word for popsicles now: Ice Lollies.
Isn't that the best?:) I like the English spellings for words like
favorite too.;)
Ren
Sandra Dodd
-=-Well, it's a word, not a phrase but....
I can't stand it when someone says "WA-la" for VOILA. Like nails on a
chalkboard.-=-
People spell it that way sometimes, though (or some 'wallah' way) and
it's difficult.
I don't like "poured over." Should be "pored over." I try to just
read past it but I can't help but wonder what they poured over the
thing. Lemonade? Water.
Kirby says "It's not rocket surgery." It's not a mistake, it's on
purpose.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I can't stand it when someone says "WA-la" for VOILA. Like nails on a
chalkboard.-=-
People spell it that way sometimes, though (or some 'wallah' way) and
it's difficult.
I don't like "poured over." Should be "pored over." I try to just
read past it but I can't help but wonder what they poured over the
thing. Lemonade? Water.
Kirby says "It's not rocket surgery." It's not a mistake, it's on
purpose.
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
[email protected]
I live in IL and we have an "Ice Lolly Cafe"!
Dianne
-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Ren Allen" <starsuncloud@...>
I can't stand it when someone says "WA-la" for VOILA. Like nails on a
chalkboard.
We have a new favourite English word for popsicles now: Ice Lollies.
Isn't that the best?:) I like the English spellings for words like
favorite too.;)
Ren
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Dianne
-------------- Original message --------------
From: "Ren Allen" <starsuncloud@...>
> anyone else have sayings or phrases that they have messed up or haveWell, it's a word, not a phrase but....
> seen others egregiously ruin?
>
I can't stand it when someone says "WA-la" for VOILA. Like nails on a
chalkboard.
We have a new favourite English word for popsicles now: Ice Lollies.
Isn't that the best?:) I like the English spellings for words like
favorite too.;)
Ren
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Joanna Murphy
"I could care
written about it, because apparently it was originally "I couldn't care less," which was a book
title and then common phrase in Britain, and then became a popular phrase in the US and
then changed to "I could care less." Unlike many phrases that transform, the linguists don't
know why this one did. The author did point out that using the latter phrase is associated
with lower social classes.
Joanna
> less" when folks really mean "I couldn't care less".This is my son's pet peeve phrase as well. We googled it and there is actually quite a bit
>
written about it, because apparently it was originally "I couldn't care less," which was a book
title and then common phrase in Britain, and then became a popular phrase in the US and
then changed to "I could care less." Unlike many phrases that transform, the linguists don't
know why this one did. The author did point out that using the latter phrase is associated
with lower social classes.
Joanna
Joyce Fetteroll
On Oct 8, 2008, at 4:58 PM, jenbgosh wrote:
used in gambling slang.
Joyce
> and instead of describing a situationSomeone on a board said:
> where there is no difference between choices as "six of one, half a
> dozen of the other," they say "it's a horse apiece."
> In Reply to: Re: It's a horse apiece. posted by Bruce Kahl onWhich sound like a good fit, but I don't see a reference to horse
> February 29, 2000
>
> : : I'm looking for an origin or meaning for this phrase. I've been
> looking everywhere...can someone help me please?
>
> : I have no reference books/sites to give you so I will give you
> the sense of what the phrase means. It seems to mean "Six of one,
> half a dozen of another" or "take your pick".
> : I contribute to various technology forums and the following is a
> paste from one of them that will give you an idea of how the phrase
> is used:
>
> : "Personally, I think current Mac systems and current PC systems
> are about a horse apiece. If you're comfortable with Mac, I'd say
> stick with it, and if you're comfortable with the world of Bill
> Gates, by all means be happy where you are, but there's no reason
> for the infantile flame-fests between mac and pc advocates."
>
> I heard (and, in fact, used) the phrase in the context of a common
> dice game, where the last round comes down to two individuals,
> where the game is decided best two out of three. If you lose the
> first round, it's "a horse on you." If you win the next, it's "a
> horse apiece," meaning all square and the next turn decides it.
> (That is, decides who buys the round of drinks....)
>
>
used in gambling slang.
Joyce
Joyce Fetteroll
There's a word for these mistaken sayings, which is itself a mistaken
saying:
Mondegreen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen
A mondegreen is the mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase,
typically a standardized phrase such as a line in a poem or a lyric
in a song, due to near homophony.[1][2] It should not be confused
with Soramimis, which are songs that produce different meanings to
those originally intended, when interpreted in another language.
Etymology
The American writer Sylvia Wright coined the term mondegreen in an
essay "The Death of Lady Mondegreen," which was published in Harper's
Magazine in November 1954.[3] In the essay, Wright described how, as
a young girl, she misheard the final line of the first stanza from
the 17th century ballad "The Bonnie Earl O' Murray." She wrote:
When I was a child, my mother used to read aloud to me from Percy's
Reliques, and one of my favorite poems began, as I remember:
Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands,
Oh, where hae ye been?
They hae slain the Earl Amurray, [sic]
And Lady Mondegreen.
The actual fourth line is "And laid him on the green." As Wright
explained the need for a new term, "The point about what I shall
hereafter call mondegreens, since no one else has thought up a word
for them, is that they are better than the original."
Other examples Wright suggested are:
• Surely Good Mrs. Murphy shall follow me all the days of my life
("Surely goodness and mercy…" from Psalm 23)
• The wild, strange battle cry "Haffely, Gaffely, Gaffely,
Gonward." ("Half a league, half a league,/ Half a league onward,"
from "The Charge of the Light Brigade")
The columnists William Safire of The New York Times and, later, Jon
Carroll of the San Francisco Chronicle have long been popularizers of
the term and collectors of mondegreens. They may have been the chief
links between Wright's work and the general popularity of the notion
today.
In 2008, it was announced that the word had been added to Merriam-
Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.[4][5]
Role in culture
While mondegreens are a common occurrence for children, many adults
have their own collection, particularly with regard to popular music.
Quite a few mondegreens may be seen in closed-captioned live
television broadcasting of impromptu speeches, interviews, etc. (for
example, a local news report of a "grand parade" might be captioned
as a "Grandpa raid"). The prevalence of mondegreens in this context
arises in part from the use of stenotype machines and the need for
captions to keep up with the fast pace of programs. This machine is
used not to type out words directly as a common keyboard but rather
to record the syllables of the words being spoken. Thus, the
stenographic recording is a phonetic transcription of the words being
spoken. Software is then used to translate the phonetic syllables
into proper words. Given some unusual syllabic constructions, and the
sophistication of the software, errors come in as the system tries to
distinguish where the word break is in the syllable stream.
Typically, the software uses pre-programmed information that matches
syllable clusters to written forms, then suggests captions from which
a human "captionist" chooses. Mistakes may come from inadequacies in
the program's recognition capability, from the failure to provide the
software with vocabulary specific to the context, from the
captionist's own mishearing of the words, or from the need for the
captionist to make a decision before an ambiguous statement is made
clear by what is said next.
In popular culture
See also: Soramimi
Some mondegreens arise from "false friends" or false cognates. In
both cases a phrase in one language may be misheard as a semi-
sensical phrase in another language, called a Soramimi. The humorous
aspect of these has given rise to a music video genre known as
animutation, in which music in a different language (often Japanese,
although others such as Swedish exist) is "misheard" into English,
and illustrated. Engrish mondegreens can also occur when English
lyrics are reproduced by singers of Asian languages.
This may happen in the opposite direction as well: i.e., English
words of a song are misheard, intentionally or not, to mean something
else in a native language, often with a humorous effect. An example
is a Russian joke in which the song "Can't Buy Me Love" was announced
as "кинь бабе лом" (pronounced [kinʲ babʲe lom]), which
roughly translates as "Throw a crowbar to the old woman".
Examples in song lyrics
• The "top 3" mondegreens submitted regularly to mondegreen expert
Jon Carroll are:[1]
1. Gladly the cross-eyed bear[3] (from the line in the hymn "Keep
Thou My Way" by Fanny Crosby, "Kept by Thy tender care, gladly the
cross I'll bear")[6] Carroll and many others quote it as "Gladly the
cross I'd bear". Ed McBain used the mondegreen as the title of a
novel. Also, this mondegreen is paraphrased by the band They Might Be
Giants in their song "Hide Away Folk Family" (Sadly the cross-eyed
bear's been put to sleep behind the stairs, and his shoes are laced
with irony.)
2. There's a bathroom on the right (the line at the end of each
verse of "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival: "There's
a bad moon on the rise")
3. 'Scuse me while I kiss this guy (from a lyric in the song "Purple
Haze", by Jimi Hendrix: "'Scuse me while I kiss the sky").
Both Creedence's John Fogerty and Hendrix eventually capitalized on
these mishearings and deliberately sang the "mondegreen" versions of
their songs in concert.[7][8][9]
• The film "Angels In The Outfield" makes a reference to the
mishearing of mistakes "O, say can you see" from The Star-Spangled
Banner as "José can you see?".[10] Bill Dana used this mondegreen in
a comedy bit as the Hispanic character José Jimenez. Columnist Mike
Royko made the same joke about José Cardenal after the ballplayer had
recovered from an eye infection. In Beverly Cleary's children's novel
Ramona the Pest, Ramona refers to the "Dawnzer lee light" (dawn's
early light).
• In Stevie Nicks' song Edge of Seventeen the line "Just Like a
White Winged Dove" is often misheard as "Just like a One Winged
Dove". [11][12][13][14] The title itself originated from a mishearing
of "age of seventeen".
• In an episode of the television sitcom Friends, Phoebe believes
the lyric from Elton John's "Tiny Dancer", "Hold me closer, tiny
dancer" is actually "Hold me close, young Tony Danza."[15]
• In the CBS sitcom The Nanny, "The girl with kaleidoscope eyes,"
from the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by The Beatles, is
misheard as "The girl with colitis goes by."[1]
• "A wean in a manger," using the Scottish word for a baby, instead
of "Away in a Manger." Gervase Phinn used "A Wayne in a Manger" as
the title of a book about a children's nativity play.[16]
• "Tell the Huns it's time for me" (from the song "Beneath the
Lights of Home (In a Little Sleepy Town)" sung by Deanna Durbin in
Nice Girl? (1941): "Turn the hands of time for me") on the BBC radio
programme Quote Unquote in 2002.[17]
• Mairzy Doats, a 1943 novelty song by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman and
Jerry Livingston, works the other way around. The lyrics are already
a mondegreen (the song is sung in a fake West-country accent), and
it's up to the listener to figure out what they mean. The refrain of
the song repeats nonsensical sounding lines:
Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wooden shoe (or, if you prefer, "wouldn't chew").
The only clue to the actual meaning of the words is contained in the
bridge:
If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled
and jivey,
Sing "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy."
From this point, the ear can figure out that the last line of the
refrain is "A kid'll eat ivy too; wouldn't you?", but this last line
is only sung in the song as a mondegreen.
• The Joni Mitchell cover of the Lambert, Hendricks & Ross song
"Twisted" includes a mondegreen: the original lyric They all laughed
at A. Graham Bell was misheard and subsequently recorded by Mitchell
as They all laugh at angry young men.[18]
• Mike Sutton, a mondegreen director on YouTube with the username
"Buffalax", uploaded several non-English music videos which were
edited to include subtitles of the written English approximation of
the video's original language's sound. These include Internet memes
such as Moskau (originally German), Tunak Tunak Tun (originally
Punjabi), Indian Thriller (originally Telugu) and Benny Lava
(originally Tamil). The latter, involving the video for Prabhu Deva
Sundaram's song, "Kalluri Vaanil" from the Indian Tamil movie, Pennin
Manathai Thottu, has occasionally been referred to as "the web's
hottest clip" [19] On the Internet, both the terms "Buffalaxed" and
"Benny lava" are now synonymous with mondegreens, "words or phrases
misheard in ways that yield new meanings."[20][21]
Examples in television
• "Mondegreens" is the name of a segment on the Australian music
quiz show Spicks and Specks (ABC TV).
Other examples
• A controversial example is found in the movie Who Framed Roger
Rabbit, where Donald Duck in a scene chastises Daffy Duck, exclaiming
"Doggone stubborn little..." Donald's quacks have frequently been
misheard as "God damn stupid nigger", resulting in a hard-to-put-down
urban legend.[22]
• The games Mad Gab and Babble-On feature mondegreens as puzzles
for players to solve.
Examples in languages other than English
Hebrew
"Naturally, mondegreens are a universal phenomenon. They often occur
with songs taught to groups of children by nannies or teachers. An
Israeli example is mukhrakhím liyót saméakh ‘We must be happy’
instead of (the high-register) úru akhím belév saméakh ‘Wake up,
brothers, with a happy heart’, from the well-known song Háva
Nagíla (Let’s be Happy). Thus, a foreigner interested in learning
the original song had better not ask an Israeli for its lyrics.
Consider also the ‘non-phonetic mondegreen’ (employing
‘mondegreen’ more broadly) with the Israeli children’s song
úga, úga, úga, bámagal nakhúga. The original meaning is ‘Round,
round, round, let us move in a circle’ but it is interpreted by most
Israeli children as the homophonous ‘cake, cake, cake, let us move
in a circle’, cf. Israeli [Hebrew] ugá ‘cake’ (note that úga
‘round, roll, draw a circle! (masculine, singular)’ is outdated).
This song might have made many Israeli children perceive the default,
unmarked cake as round – like Yiddish kúgļ ‘kugel, kind of
pudding’ (popularly etymologized as Israeli [Hebrew] keigul ‘like
a circle’) and Yiddish shtrúdļ ‘strudel, type of fruit
cake’."[23]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
saying:
Mondegreen
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen
A mondegreen is the mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase,
typically a standardized phrase such as a line in a poem or a lyric
in a song, due to near homophony.[1][2] It should not be confused
with Soramimis, which are songs that produce different meanings to
those originally intended, when interpreted in another language.
Etymology
The American writer Sylvia Wright coined the term mondegreen in an
essay "The Death of Lady Mondegreen," which was published in Harper's
Magazine in November 1954.[3] In the essay, Wright described how, as
a young girl, she misheard the final line of the first stanza from
the 17th century ballad "The Bonnie Earl O' Murray." She wrote:
When I was a child, my mother used to read aloud to me from Percy's
Reliques, and one of my favorite poems began, as I remember:
Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands,
Oh, where hae ye been?
They hae slain the Earl Amurray, [sic]
And Lady Mondegreen.
The actual fourth line is "And laid him on the green." As Wright
explained the need for a new term, "The point about what I shall
hereafter call mondegreens, since no one else has thought up a word
for them, is that they are better than the original."
Other examples Wright suggested are:
• Surely Good Mrs. Murphy shall follow me all the days of my life
("Surely goodness and mercy…" from Psalm 23)
• The wild, strange battle cry "Haffely, Gaffely, Gaffely,
Gonward." ("Half a league, half a league,/ Half a league onward,"
from "The Charge of the Light Brigade")
The columnists William Safire of The New York Times and, later, Jon
Carroll of the San Francisco Chronicle have long been popularizers of
the term and collectors of mondegreens. They may have been the chief
links between Wright's work and the general popularity of the notion
today.
In 2008, it was announced that the word had been added to Merriam-
Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.[4][5]
Role in culture
While mondegreens are a common occurrence for children, many adults
have their own collection, particularly with regard to popular music.
Quite a few mondegreens may be seen in closed-captioned live
television broadcasting of impromptu speeches, interviews, etc. (for
example, a local news report of a "grand parade" might be captioned
as a "Grandpa raid"). The prevalence of mondegreens in this context
arises in part from the use of stenotype machines and the need for
captions to keep up with the fast pace of programs. This machine is
used not to type out words directly as a common keyboard but rather
to record the syllables of the words being spoken. Thus, the
stenographic recording is a phonetic transcription of the words being
spoken. Software is then used to translate the phonetic syllables
into proper words. Given some unusual syllabic constructions, and the
sophistication of the software, errors come in as the system tries to
distinguish where the word break is in the syllable stream.
Typically, the software uses pre-programmed information that matches
syllable clusters to written forms, then suggests captions from which
a human "captionist" chooses. Mistakes may come from inadequacies in
the program's recognition capability, from the failure to provide the
software with vocabulary specific to the context, from the
captionist's own mishearing of the words, or from the need for the
captionist to make a decision before an ambiguous statement is made
clear by what is said next.
In popular culture
See also: Soramimi
Some mondegreens arise from "false friends" or false cognates. In
both cases a phrase in one language may be misheard as a semi-
sensical phrase in another language, called a Soramimi. The humorous
aspect of these has given rise to a music video genre known as
animutation, in which music in a different language (often Japanese,
although others such as Swedish exist) is "misheard" into English,
and illustrated. Engrish mondegreens can also occur when English
lyrics are reproduced by singers of Asian languages.
This may happen in the opposite direction as well: i.e., English
words of a song are misheard, intentionally or not, to mean something
else in a native language, often with a humorous effect. An example
is a Russian joke in which the song "Can't Buy Me Love" was announced
as "кинь бабе лом" (pronounced [kinʲ babʲe lom]), which
roughly translates as "Throw a crowbar to the old woman".
Examples in song lyrics
• The "top 3" mondegreens submitted regularly to mondegreen expert
Jon Carroll are:[1]
1. Gladly the cross-eyed bear[3] (from the line in the hymn "Keep
Thou My Way" by Fanny Crosby, "Kept by Thy tender care, gladly the
cross I'll bear")[6] Carroll and many others quote it as "Gladly the
cross I'd bear". Ed McBain used the mondegreen as the title of a
novel. Also, this mondegreen is paraphrased by the band They Might Be
Giants in their song "Hide Away Folk Family" (Sadly the cross-eyed
bear's been put to sleep behind the stairs, and his shoes are laced
with irony.)
2. There's a bathroom on the right (the line at the end of each
verse of "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival: "There's
a bad moon on the rise")
3. 'Scuse me while I kiss this guy (from a lyric in the song "Purple
Haze", by Jimi Hendrix: "'Scuse me while I kiss the sky").
Both Creedence's John Fogerty and Hendrix eventually capitalized on
these mishearings and deliberately sang the "mondegreen" versions of
their songs in concert.[7][8][9]
• The film "Angels In The Outfield" makes a reference to the
mishearing of mistakes "O, say can you see" from The Star-Spangled
Banner as "José can you see?".[10] Bill Dana used this mondegreen in
a comedy bit as the Hispanic character José Jimenez. Columnist Mike
Royko made the same joke about José Cardenal after the ballplayer had
recovered from an eye infection. In Beverly Cleary's children's novel
Ramona the Pest, Ramona refers to the "Dawnzer lee light" (dawn's
early light).
• In Stevie Nicks' song Edge of Seventeen the line "Just Like a
White Winged Dove" is often misheard as "Just like a One Winged
Dove". [11][12][13][14] The title itself originated from a mishearing
of "age of seventeen".
• In an episode of the television sitcom Friends, Phoebe believes
the lyric from Elton John's "Tiny Dancer", "Hold me closer, tiny
dancer" is actually "Hold me close, young Tony Danza."[15]
• In the CBS sitcom The Nanny, "The girl with kaleidoscope eyes,"
from the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" by The Beatles, is
misheard as "The girl with colitis goes by."[1]
• "A wean in a manger," using the Scottish word for a baby, instead
of "Away in a Manger." Gervase Phinn used "A Wayne in a Manger" as
the title of a book about a children's nativity play.[16]
• "Tell the Huns it's time for me" (from the song "Beneath the
Lights of Home (In a Little Sleepy Town)" sung by Deanna Durbin in
Nice Girl? (1941): "Turn the hands of time for me") on the BBC radio
programme Quote Unquote in 2002.[17]
• Mairzy Doats, a 1943 novelty song by Milton Drake, Al Hoffman and
Jerry Livingston, works the other way around. The lyrics are already
a mondegreen (the song is sung in a fake West-country accent), and
it's up to the listener to figure out what they mean. The refrain of
the song repeats nonsensical sounding lines:
Mairzy doats and dozy doats and liddle lamzy divey
A kiddley divey too, wooden shoe (or, if you prefer, "wouldn't chew").
The only clue to the actual meaning of the words is contained in the
bridge:
If the words sound queer and funny to your ear, a little bit jumbled
and jivey,
Sing "Mares eat oats and does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy."
From this point, the ear can figure out that the last line of the
refrain is "A kid'll eat ivy too; wouldn't you?", but this last line
is only sung in the song as a mondegreen.
• The Joni Mitchell cover of the Lambert, Hendricks & Ross song
"Twisted" includes a mondegreen: the original lyric They all laughed
at A. Graham Bell was misheard and subsequently recorded by Mitchell
as They all laugh at angry young men.[18]
• Mike Sutton, a mondegreen director on YouTube with the username
"Buffalax", uploaded several non-English music videos which were
edited to include subtitles of the written English approximation of
the video's original language's sound. These include Internet memes
such as Moskau (originally German), Tunak Tunak Tun (originally
Punjabi), Indian Thriller (originally Telugu) and Benny Lava
(originally Tamil). The latter, involving the video for Prabhu Deva
Sundaram's song, "Kalluri Vaanil" from the Indian Tamil movie, Pennin
Manathai Thottu, has occasionally been referred to as "the web's
hottest clip" [19] On the Internet, both the terms "Buffalaxed" and
"Benny lava" are now synonymous with mondegreens, "words or phrases
misheard in ways that yield new meanings."[20][21]
Examples in television
• "Mondegreens" is the name of a segment on the Australian music
quiz show Spicks and Specks (ABC TV).
Other examples
• A controversial example is found in the movie Who Framed Roger
Rabbit, where Donald Duck in a scene chastises Daffy Duck, exclaiming
"Doggone stubborn little..." Donald's quacks have frequently been
misheard as "God damn stupid nigger", resulting in a hard-to-put-down
urban legend.[22]
• The games Mad Gab and Babble-On feature mondegreens as puzzles
for players to solve.
Examples in languages other than English
Hebrew
"Naturally, mondegreens are a universal phenomenon. They often occur
with songs taught to groups of children by nannies or teachers. An
Israeli example is mukhrakhím liyót saméakh ‘We must be happy’
instead of (the high-register) úru akhím belév saméakh ‘Wake up,
brothers, with a happy heart’, from the well-known song Háva
Nagíla (Let’s be Happy). Thus, a foreigner interested in learning
the original song had better not ask an Israeli for its lyrics.
Consider also the ‘non-phonetic mondegreen’ (employing
‘mondegreen’ more broadly) with the Israeli children’s song
úga, úga, úga, bámagal nakhúga. The original meaning is ‘Round,
round, round, let us move in a circle’ but it is interpreted by most
Israeli children as the homophonous ‘cake, cake, cake, let us move
in a circle’, cf. Israeli [Hebrew] ugá ‘cake’ (note that úga
‘round, roll, draw a circle! (masculine, singular)’ is outdated).
This song might have made many Israeli children perceive the default,
unmarked cake as round – like Yiddish kúgļ ‘kugel, kind of
pudding’ (popularly etymologized as Israeli [Hebrew] keigul ‘like
a circle’) and Yiddish shtrúdļ ‘strudel, type of fruit
cake’."[23]
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Joyce Fetteroll
On Oct 9, 2008, at 5:09 AM, Joyce Fetteroll wrote:
http://www.youtube.com/user/buffalax
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
> � Mike Sutton, a mondegreen director on YouTube with the usernameKat showed me these a while ago. They're a riot :-)
> "Buffalax", uploaded several non-English music videos which were
> edited to include subtitles of the written English approximation of
> the video's original language's sound. These include Internet memes
> such as Moskau (originally German), Tunak Tunak Tun (originally
> Punjabi), Indian Thriller (originally Telugu) and Benny Lava
> (originally Tamil). The latter, involving the video for Prabhu Deva
> Sundaram's song, "Kalluri Vaanil" from the Indian Tamil movie, Pennin
> Manathai Thottu, has occasionally been referred to as "the web's
> hottest clip" [19] On the Internet, both the terms "Buffalaxed" and
> "Benny lava" are now synonymous with mondegreens, "words or phrases
> misheard in ways that yield new meanings."
http://www.youtube.com/user/buffalax
Joyce
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
-=-it was originally "I couldn't care less," which was a book
title and then common phrase in Britain, and then became a popular
phrase in the US and
then changed to "I could care less."-=-
It's didn't "change," it was repeatedly misused.
It was a common phrase before it was a book title, I'm pretty sure.
Maybe you meant
-=-it was originally "I couldn't care less," which was a book title
and then-common phrase in Britain,-=-
and not
-=-it was originally "I couldn't care less," which was a book title,
and then a common phrase in Britain, -=-
I love English.
Lots of people don't love English any more than I love mathematical
equations and axioms (in the "memorize these, there will be a test"
way).
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
title and then common phrase in Britain, and then became a popular
phrase in the US and
then changed to "I could care less."-=-
It's didn't "change," it was repeatedly misused.
It was a common phrase before it was a book title, I'm pretty sure.
Maybe you meant
-=-it was originally "I couldn't care less," which was a book title
and then-common phrase in Britain,-=-
and not
-=-it was originally "I couldn't care less," which was a book title,
and then a common phrase in Britain, -=-
I love English.
Lots of people don't love English any more than I love mathematical
equations and axioms (in the "memorize these, there will be a test"
way).
Sandra
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra Dodd
This was in a page-a-day calendar I got just after I made my last
post about loving English:
OFT CONFUSED WORDS [2]
When the Queen pulled a CORD............................the pianist
played a CHORD
Eager to be COMPLAISANT........................he tolerated her being
COMPLACENT
He was CONFIDENT...his CONFIDANT would keep his CONFIDENCES CONFIDENTIAL
I CONTINUALLY moan...............................about it raining
CONTINUOUSLY
I always DEMUR..............................................when told
I�m DEMURE
I DEPRECATE how my pension fund....................has been allowed
to DEPRECIATE
He got his just DESERTS.......................when his DESSERT melted
in the DESERT
Never fight a DUEL.................................against one with a
DUAL personality
The eagle�s EYRIE................................................was
EERIE in the dark
The Mafia EXHORTED their
goons.........................................to EXTORT
One should only FAWN....................................over a FAWN-
coloured FAUN
The blocked FLUE.................................................made
his FLU worse
One should FORBEAR.................................from insulting
one�s FOREBEARS
The artist FORMERLY known as Prince.....................dresses
FORMALLY for dinner
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
post about loving English:
OFT CONFUSED WORDS [2]
When the Queen pulled a CORD............................the pianist
played a CHORD
Eager to be COMPLAISANT........................he tolerated her being
COMPLACENT
He was CONFIDENT...his CONFIDANT would keep his CONFIDENCES CONFIDENTIAL
I CONTINUALLY moan...............................about it raining
CONTINUOUSLY
I always DEMUR..............................................when told
I�m DEMURE
I DEPRECATE how my pension fund....................has been allowed
to DEPRECIATE
He got his just DESERTS.......................when his DESSERT melted
in the DESERT
Never fight a DUEL.................................against one with a
DUAL personality
The eagle�s EYRIE................................................was
EERIE in the dark
The Mafia EXHORTED their
goons.........................................to EXTORT
One should only FAWN....................................over a FAWN-
coloured FAUN
The blocked FLUE.................................................made
his FLU worse
One should FORBEAR.................................from insulting
one�s FOREBEARS
The artist FORMERLY known as Prince.....................dresses
FORMALLY for dinner
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Margaret
Another good source of these is the newsletter Scott Adams (of Dilbert
fame) sends out over email. He will have quotes or stories about
"induhviduals" where people can submit mistakes like that, written or
spoken. Many are mondegreens, but there are also lots of other verbal
mistakes like combining sayings and also just people being ditzy.
http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/dnrc/html/read_the_newsletter.html
I sent one in at one point. My sister and I were staying at a hotel
in Amstradam and there was a sign on the door with rules and
disclaimers. One of them was something like "Hotel is not
responsible for loss of values." As the hotel was in the red light
district (oops), I found it rather funny.
I also like http://www.engrish.com/ which has a lot of strange things
written in English by non-native speakers.
Another mistake that cracked me up is that I was reading a manhwa and
the main character had a hat that had the F word on it in huge
letters. He was a rather coarse fellow, so it didn't seem
unreasonable. What was funny is that whenever he spoke he used tame
alternate swear words and never, in the entire manhwa, said anything
as strong as what his hat said. Sometimes the clothes people wear in
asian books and shows say really funny things.
Margaret
fame) sends out over email. He will have quotes or stories about
"induhviduals" where people can submit mistakes like that, written or
spoken. Many are mondegreens, but there are also lots of other verbal
mistakes like combining sayings and also just people being ditzy.
http://www.unitedmedia.com/comics/dilbert/dnrc/html/read_the_newsletter.html
I sent one in at one point. My sister and I were staying at a hotel
in Amstradam and there was a sign on the door with rules and
disclaimers. One of them was something like "Hotel is not
responsible for loss of values." As the hotel was in the red light
district (oops), I found it rather funny.
I also like http://www.engrish.com/ which has a lot of strange things
written in English by non-native speakers.
Another mistake that cracked me up is that I was reading a manhwa and
the main character had a hat that had the F word on it in huge
letters. He was a rather coarse fellow, so it didn't seem
unreasonable. What was funny is that whenever he spoke he used tame
alternate swear words and never, in the entire manhwa, said anything
as strong as what his hat said. Sometimes the clothes people wear in
asian books and shows say really funny things.
Margaret
[email protected]
In a message dated 10/9/2008 11:06:33 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
Sandra@... writes:
<<<This was in a page-a-day calendar I got just after I made my last
post about loving English:>>>
Oh! Which reminds me of another (hopefully) mispronunciation I often hear:
prostate/prostrate. That one always jumps out at me loud and clear.
Peace,
De
**************New MapQuest Local shows what's happening at your destination.
Dining, Movies, Events, News & more. Try it out
(http://local.mapquest.com/?ncid=emlcntnew00000002)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Sandra@... writes:
<<<This was in a page-a-day calendar I got just after I made my last
post about loving English:>>>
Oh! Which reminds me of another (hopefully) mispronunciation I often hear:
prostate/prostrate. That one always jumps out at me loud and clear.
Peace,
De
**************New MapQuest Local shows what's happening at your destination.
Dining, Movies, Events, News & more. Try it out
(http://local.mapquest.com/?ncid=emlcntnew00000002)
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]