14 Everyday Sayings You Might Be Getting Wrong
While the English language may not be the hardest to learn, it can be easy to mess up some of its classic sayings. According to the matador network, these are called “eggcorns,” a mispronunciation of “acorns” and defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “a word or phrase that sounds like and is mistakenly used in a seemingly logical or plausible way for another word or phrase either on its own or as part of a set expression.”
Here are some English phrases that people tend to get wrong:
1) Saying “Nip it in the butt” instead of “Nip it in the bud.” 2) Saying “To pass mustard” instead of “To pass muster.” 3) Saying “Soaping wet” instead of “Soaking wet.” 4) Saying “to all intensive purposes” instead of “to all intents and purposes” 5) Saying a “mute point” instead of a “moot point” 6) Saying “biting your time” instead of “biding your time” 7) Saying “dull as dishwater” instead of “dull as ditch water” 8) Saying an “old wise tale” instead of an “old wives’ tale” 9) Saying “wheelbarrel” instead of “wheelbarrow” 10) Saying “nerve wrecking” instead of “nerve-racking” 11) Saying “illicit a response” instead of “elicit a response” 12) Saying “expresso” instead of “espresso” 13) Saying “damp squid” instead of “damp squib” 14) Saying “on tender hooks” instead of “on tenterhooks”
Some I have heard of, some not so much!
