Monday, November 26, 2007

Misstatements

I've recently heard/read several misstatements of some very common expressions:
  • "we would like to express our up most gratitude" (should be "utmost" - incidentally, this was printed on the stationery of a major university)
  • "in one swell swoop" (should be "in one fell swoop")
  • "above bar" (should be "above par")
  • "I could care less" (should be "I couldn't care less" - this one has been a pet peeve of mine for years)
  • "that's a mood point" (should be "a moot point")
Have you heard any?

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Take it for granite." That's one I hear all the time!

The Tiffinian said...

Jenn,
Do you think people are referring to granite, meaning the type of rock, or are they guilty of a far more egregious error: pronouncing an "-it" with words that end in "-ed" or "-id"? For example, I've heard someone say "stupit" instead of "stupid."

Gretchen said...

All of those misstatements are just stupit.

Anonymous said...

I really can't go into pacifics of all the misstatements I've heard!
See you in a few weeks!
Love, Mom

Anonymous said...

Josh, if we are going into pacifics on mispronouncing words. . . a whole new can of worms. . FOR RILL.

Anna

The Tiffinian said...

I have heard people refer to their "cousints" instead of "cousins."

MadMup said...

I've heard people say "mute point" for "moot point," too.

Sizzledowski said...

My friend, Mark, is the king of misquotes.

He once told the bus kids not to "defile him" rather than "defy him."

He says "flip the bill" instead of "foot the bill."

My old pastor had a lot, too.

He would say "phantom" instead of "fatham."

He would say the "raft of God" instead of "wrath"

Ooooh, I could go on and on!! This is a great topic.

Anonymous said...

oh my word, defile instead of defy! Here's another. . .Patients will ask "did you call in my subscription for my pills?", instead of prescription. hee,hee.

Anna

The Tiffinian said...

Anna,
That's a funny question for a patient to ax.

Anonymous said...

I have to admit, I'm guilty of a misstatement that I just can't seem to correct! I say "ridonkulous" instead of "ridiculous"....I'm working on it :)

See you soon!!
Kari

Anonymous said...

JOSH!!!! I just heard another one! Someone 3 feet away from me standing at the fax machine waiting said loudly "Patience is a VIRTUTE" !!!
HAHA Anna

The Tiffinian said...

I remember when Gretchen taught at Georgetown that an Army recruiter gave a motivational talk to her class on "the essentuals of success."

If patient is a virtute not a virtue, a law is a statue not a statute.

Anonymous said...

Josh, someone here at work says "spal" instead of "spa" :) Someone asked if they made robes with hoods, and she said, "they have them at all spals".

Anna

The Tiffinian said...

Anna,
I almost forget this common and funny mistake, in which people tend to confuse two words with very different meanings:

1. (singing) "...let angels prostate fall..."

2. "He goes to the bathroom a lot because he has an enlarged prostrate."

Anonymous said...

Josh, I am not kidding on this one. . . I had to write it because it had TWO in one sentence! (Mispronunciations). . . ."the patographer was so smart to think to take that pitcher"

OH MY.

Anna