this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2025
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Please state in which country your phrase tends to be used, what the phrase is, and what it should be.

Example:

In America, recently came across "back-petal", instead of back-pedal. Also, still hearing "for all intensive purposes" instead of "for all intents and purposes".

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[–] JubilantJaguar@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago (5 children)

To "step foot on". I don't care that millennial journalists are now sullying the literal NYT with this, it's WRONG. It's to set foot on. To SET foot on.

[–] Noodle07@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)
[–] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 5 points 1 day ago

Wh... What are you doing, step-toe?

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[–] kabi@lemm.ee 16 points 2 days ago (2 children)

It's "I didn't taste it, let alone finish it." not "I didn't finish it, let alone taste it.". Not those exact words, of course. People get it wrong more often than not IME. The wrong version never makes sense, and it always trips me up.

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[–] disguy_ovahea@lemmy.world 17 points 2 days ago (2 children)

Those mis-stated phrases are called eggcorns. They’re a fascinating contributor to the evolution of language.

The term egg corn (later contracted into one word, eggcorn) was coined by professor of linguistics Geoffrey Pullum in September 2003 in response to an article by Mark Liberman on the website Language Log, a group blog for linguists.[5] In his article, Liberman discussed the case of a woman who had used the phrase egg corn for acorn, and he noted that this specific type of substitution lacked a name. Pullum suggested using egg corn itself as a label.[6]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn

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[–] Nollij@sopuli.xyz 16 points 2 days ago (8 children)

"flush it out" instead of "flesh it out" when designing a plan

[–] MonkeMischief@lemmy.today 4 points 1 day ago

"Let's flush out this design."

"You got it!" [Slowly readies a grenade.]

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[–] Bronzebeard@lemm.ee 9 points 1 day ago (4 children)

The "positive anymore" is a vile grammatical abomination spawning from the Midwest US.

Normally using the word anymore has a negative tone to it (I don't eat meat anymore) . Except when used in this manner which seems to be when they should instead be saying currently or nowadays.

I find it viscerally unappealing.

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[–] jyl@sopuli.xyz 14 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Some weirdos write decades as possessive. Writing "90's" implies that there's a 90 that owns something.

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[–] Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 14 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Using loose instead of lose.

[–] poweruser@lemmy.sdf.org 12 points 2 days ago

I'm losing friends for loosing dogs on useless losers' loose use of lose and loose

[–] jordanlund@lemmy.world 13 points 2 days ago (4 children)

I really hate it when us media uses the word "ouster".

For example:

https://www.kpcw.org/ski-resorts/2025-01-27/vail-resorts-shareholder-calls-for-ouster-of-ceo-cfo-and-rob-katz

"Vail Resorts shareholder calls for ouster of CEO, CFO and Rob Katz"

They mean to use the word here as "removal", but "oust" is also a verb and "ouster" would be "one who ousts".

So, calls for the ouster of the CEO/CFO to do what?

[–] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They could just use "ousting"

[–] WrenFeathers@lemmy.world 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

What I really hate is when people don’t capitalize the abbreviation US, because it makes me think they’re saying “us” as in “we,” or “oui” as the French like to say, no?

😀

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[–] wheeldawg@sh.itjust.works 11 points 2 days ago

I think the ouster is supposed to be the event that results in ousting. But it's so redundant it's not funny. Removal would be for much better.

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[–] pruwybn@discuss.tchncs.de 15 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I feel like the vast majority of people online use "yay or nay" instead of "yea or nay".

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[–] corsicanguppy@lemmy.ca 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)
  • literally. There's the door.
  • 'emails'. Like 'traffics'. Learn why.
  • 'startup' vs 'start up' (see shutdown and so many others)
  • irregardless. Just follow the 'litchally' clod out.
  • 'the ask' for 'the request' or 'the question'. Because life imitates a used car dealership. See 'the spend', 'action this', and whatever cocaine and flop-sweat gives us tomorrow. Go sell a car.
  • 'unless....' NO. Finish the Sentence.
  • when 'could've' became 'could of' and no one laughed their ass off at the guy, this was our missed opportunity.

Bonus: my friends are parents of elementary-school children. 'Skibidi' is one of so many words they researched carefully to make sure and screw up its usage as often as they can. It's a game, and I think they secretly keep score of eye-rolls earned. They're doing hero's work.

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[–] MrsDoyle@sh.itjust.works 10 points 2 days ago (3 children)

"The proof is in the pudding."

The actual phrase is: "The proof of the pudding is in the eating."

It means that your dessert might look and smell delicious, but if you fucked up the recipe, say by using salt instead of sugar, then it will taste bad. You won't know for sure until you eat it. So, a plan might look good on paper but be a disaster when implemented.

"The proof is in the pudding" doesn't mean anything.

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