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Expressions people get wrong

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  • ‘Towing the line’. 
    Instead of ‘toeing the line’. 
    Allegedly ;-)
  • Pronouncing it as 'footbuller' instead of 'footbawler'.

    Also 'atherlete' instead of 'athleet'.
  • Foopler 
  • Decimated. Technically it means to remove one in ten. Romans did it to their own ranks for discipline purposes and so on. 

    I know language evolves, but cos it has ‘dec’ at the start of the word, it bothers me when people use it to describe total annihilation. 

    Also, someone on here once pointed out that ‘going to ground’ really bothers them, cos it means to go into hiding and not to dive to the floor. And now it bothers me too. 
  • JiMMy 85 said:
    Decimated. Technically it means to remove one in ten. Romans did it to their own ranks for discipline purposes and so on. 

    I know language evolves, but cos it has ‘dec’ at the start of the word, it bothers me when people use it to describe total annihilation. 

    Also, someone on here once pointed out that ‘going to ground’ really bothers them, cos it means to go into hiding and not to dive to the floor. And now it bothers me too. 
    Thank you JiMMy, I did not realise this and I love learning meanings of words seriously
  • Bald as a coot
    It's bandy as a coot and bald as a badger in my family 
  • Casting nasturtiums
  • Allergickted
  • JiMMy 85 said:
    Decimated. Technically it means to remove one in ten. Romans did it to their own ranks for discipline purposes and so on. 

    I know language evolves, but cos it has ‘dec’ at the start of the word, it bothers me when people use it to describe total annihilation. 

    Also, someone on here once pointed out that ‘going to ground’ really bothers them, cos it means to go into hiding and not to dive to the floor. And now it bothers me too. 
    Does it bother you that "December" is the name we give the last month of the year then? After all, it has the "dec" prefix but isn't the tenth month (the same applies for September, October and November of course).

    The total annihilation meaning has been recorded in English for almost as long as the 'original' meaning of removing one in ten (see https://stroppyeditor.wordpress.com/2016/03/12/what-words-should-mean-and-what-they-actually-mean/), and moreover, why should we have to stick to the meanings of words (or parts of words) we adopt and adapt from other languages?

    Obviously if it bothers you personally then fair enough, but I don't think any of the 'logical' reasons for objecting to the total annihilation meaning really stack up.
  • edited May 2019
    Sorry that it bothering me bothers you Epsom. 
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  • lolwray said:
    Allergickted
    Similarly: drownded
  • JiMMy 85 said:
    Decimated. Technically it means to remove one in ten. Romans did it to their own ranks for discipline purposes and so on. 

    I know language evolves, but cos it has ‘dec’ at the start of the word, it bothers me when people use it to describe total annihilation. 

    Also, someone on here once pointed out that ‘going to ground’ really bothers them, cos it means to go into hiding and not to dive to the floor. And now it bothers me too. 
    Does it bother you that "December" is the name we give the last month of the year then? After all, it has the "dec" prefix but isn't the tenth month (the same applies for September, October and November of course).

    The total annihilation meaning has been recorded in English for almost as long as the 'original' meaning of removing one in ten (see https://stroppyeditor.wordpress.com/2016/03/12/what-words-should-mean-and-what-they-actually-mean/), and moreover, why should we have to stick to the meanings of words (or parts of words) we adopt and adapt from other languages?

    Obviously if it bothers you personally then fair enough, but I don't think any of the 'logical' reasons for objecting to the total annihilation meaning really stack up.
    September, October, etc. were the seventh, eighth, etc. months. 
  • Belgiums
  • duct tape
  • Stig said:
    duct tape
    Johnson and Johnson the original developers (of Vesta Stoudt's idea to improve the accessibility to sealed ammunition boxes) refer to the product as duct tape.   Interestingly though, (to some saddo's like me :neutral: ) within the same article they mention that there is a festival in honour of the product ... but that link opens to the Duck tape festival. 

    https://www.jnj.com/our-heritage/vesta-stoudt-the-woman-who-invented-duct-tape

    Another feasible explanation is that soldiers referred to the original product as Duck tape as it was green and waterproof.  The (nick) name then changed to duct tape as the emphasis changed from war to building and rebuilding.

    I did stumble across this rather good quotation though:  “One only needs two tools in life: WD-40 to make things go, and duct tape to make them stop.”  G. Weilacher 

    That concludes my rather inconclusive early morning research.  I do have other things to do ya know, and I will be doing them as soon as I can remember what they are.  Nurse!

      
  •  tika de boo 
    Tickety-boo ;)
  • edited March 2021
    Praps we sent the fans home appy.
  • we go again............. yup another pathetic, gutless defeat come Tuesday or Saturday.
  • One of them things
  • edited March 2021
    Curbs calling our left back Marsten was great the other day. You could just see Minto was desperate to pull him up on it.
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  • I want to aks you a question.
  • Disinterested vs uninterested.

    A referee should be disinterested in the outcome of the game but would miss a lot if he was uninterested in the game.

    It begs the question: are the referees we get disinterested or uninterested?
  • Disinterested vs uninterested.

    A referee should be disinterested in the outcome of the game but would miss a lot if he was uninterested in the game.

    It begs the question: are the referees we get disinterested or uninterested?
    both
  • Disinterested vs uninterested.

    A referee should be disinterested in the outcome of the game but would miss a lot if he was uninterested in the game.

    It begs the question: are the referees we get disinterested or uninterested?
    Yes.  :p
  • I want to aks you a question.
    There’s a whole debate about the origins of this. Some claim it’s a perfectly valid version of ask as it’s been in use for centuries. 
    If memory serves, I believe it’s still in fairly common usage amongst some locals in east coast counties like Norfolk. It also travelled to the Caribbean in the distant past where it became commonly used.

    If you’re talking about it being used by British people putting on a fake patois, then that’s another debate entirely.
  • When I worked as a Lone Parent Advisor, we had to check the eligibility of clients for certain training courses etc.

    One of my colleagues would always elicit a titter when she stated  " Sorry. You're inillegible".
  • Moment in time. The use of ‘moment’ is suffice as moment means moment in time. 

    I also have a similar bug bear of “I personally...” I is personal. 
  • Solidgone said:
    Moment in time. The use of ‘moment’ is suffice as moment means moment in time. 

    I also have a similar bug bear of “I personally...” I is personal. 
    Depends on the circumstances but "I personally" is often used to differentiate ones personal views from their 'official' views or those of their organisation.

  • probably been said before but mixing up bought and brought irritates me 
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