# Common English phrases that, when you really think about it, don't make sense **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 28, 2011, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080 "2011-10-28T15:35:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/21 "2011-10-29T19:48:50Z")
People around here say things are “up under” other things. Where’s the remote? Up under the sofa! ---
**Author:** ![SSG\_Schwartz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SSG\_Schwartz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSG_Schwartz)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/22 "2011-10-29T20:44:46Z")
Why do we _take_ a dump. It should be, “I am going to leave a dump.” SFC Schwartz ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/23 "2011-10-29T20:52:51Z")
> [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > It seems to me that ‘I could care less’ should mean the opposite (or nearly so) of what it appears to mean: if you could care less, there is some degree to which you care; however, the phrase is mostly employed to say ‘I don’t care’, which seems like it would mean you _couldn’t_ care less. My understanding is that the correct phrase IS “I couldn’t care less” but it managed to morph into “I could care less” and since most people say things without really paying attention to them as long as they convey the correct meaning (see: this thread) it tends not to get corrected. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/24 "2011-10-29T20:53:46Z")
I think apes can seem to act “crazy” – sort of like humans do when they are feeling violently angry – jump up and down and scream and randomly throw things. Shit is probably an intensifier in this context – just means ‘worse, more so, more shocking’. The same would be true of batshit crazy. Deriving initially from ‘he has bats in his belfry’ meaning that up in his head (analogous to the topmost part of a church, where the bells are), its just chittering and flapping. “he’s bats” is a shortening of the whole phrase, and then the crazy and the shit part get added later. Just my amateur opinion . . . ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/25 "2011-10-29T21:18:27Z")
Except for onomatopoeia, all language consists of arbitrary sounds indexed to things, ideas and grammatical relationships. There’s no particular reason why the sound /tɜrn/ should signify anything at all, let alone what the OP thinks it should signify. Same thing with the sound /aʊt/. Just because they’re put together doesn’t mean suddenly the inherent arbitrariness of language should disappear. So it’s strange that the OP wants to demand that a [phrasal verb](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrasal_verbs) should be the place where the arbitrariness of language stops. Phrasal verbs are one of the least “governed” area of English semantics. Let’s start with something more basic, like /mɑmɑ/. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/26 "2011-10-29T21:19:54Z")
Parking in a drive way and driving on a park way. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/27 "2011-10-29T21:25:46Z")
> [@CitizenPained](#): > > Parking in a drive way and driving on a park way. Old army joke: why do privates eat in the general mess and generals eat in a private mess? ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/28 "2011-10-29T21:55:39Z")
“And how this amazing product works? _ **You see** _”… “You see”??? No I can’t mister radio announcer, you are on the radio. 🙂 > [@Nobody](#): > > Come to think of it, what’s so crazy about bat shit? Normally I do not rely on Urbandictionary but this entry makes sense, not a definitive answer though: > **[Urban Dictionary: batshit crazy](https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=batshit%20crazy)** > > batshit crazy: A person who is batshit crazy is certifiably nuts. The phrase has origins in the \[old fashioned\] term > [@](#): > > Occasionally, when a church was abandoned and many years passed without the bell being rung, bats would eventually come and inhabit the belfry. So, when somebody said that an individual had “bats in the belfry” it meant that there was “nothing going on upstairs” (as in that person’s brain). To be BATSHIT CRAZY is to take this even a step further. A person who is batshit crazy is so nuts that not only is their belfry full of bats, but so many bats have been there for so long that the belfry is coated in batshit. Hence, the craziest of crazy people are BATSHIT CRAZY. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/29 "2011-10-29T21:57:48Z")
Metamorphosis means for an insect to change, so now people have shortened it to “morph”. They chose the wrong part of the word- “meta” means change, not “morph”. > **[Yahoo | Mail, Weather, Search, Politics, News, Finance, Sports & Videos](https://www.yahoo.com/)** > > Latest news coverage, email, free stock quotes, live scores and video are just the beginning. Discover more every day at Yahoo! ---
**Author:** ![joebuck20](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/74df32/32.png) [@joebuck20](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joebuck20)\ **Post date:** [October 29, 2011, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/30 "2011-10-29T23:33:50Z")
“Could care less.” I know what many people mean is “\*\*Couldn’t \*\* care less.” But they often end up saying it wrong. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/31 "2011-10-30T00:09:11Z")
“Put on your shoes and socks.” Wait a minute, _in that order_? ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/32 "2011-10-30T01:14:46Z")
> [@Nobody](#): > > Someone going ape-shit. OK, going ape I can understand. I can picture an enraged ape. But going ape-shit? What, somebody goes warm, soft, steamy, and smelly? > > Edit: Come to think of it, what’s so crazy about bat shit? [Ape Shit](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=apeshit) ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/33 "2011-10-30T01:16:24Z")
> [@GIGObuster](#): > > Normally I do not rely on Urbandictionary but this entry makes sense, not a definitive answer though: > > [Urban Dictionary: batshit crazy](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=batshit%20crazy) > > > [@](#): > > > > Occasionally, when a church was abandoned and many years passed without the bell being rung, bats would eventually come and inhabit the belfry. So, when somebody said that an individual had “bats in the belfry” it meant that there was “nothing going on upstairs” (as in that person’s brain). To be BATSHIT CRAZY is to take this even a step further. A person who is batshit crazy is so nuts that not only is their belfry full of bats, but so many bats have been there for so long that the belfry is coated in batshit. Hence, the craziest of crazy people are BATSHIT CRAZY. OK, that does make sense. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![SeldomSeen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7ba0ec/32.png) [@SeldomSeen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeldomSeen)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/34 "2011-10-30T01:21:10Z")
Seldom’s pet peeve…“_It’ll get worse before it gets better_” Say what?? how do you know? (And it just occurred to me…“pet peeve” doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either) ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/35 "2011-10-30T01:21:55Z")
I also hate the word ‘extraordinary’. It makes it sound like something is extra-ordinary. You know. Not just plain, but REALLY plain. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/36 "2011-10-30T01:24:34Z")
> [@chiroptera](#): > > Because enraged apes tend to throw their shit at whatever pisses them off? > [@ExTank](#): > > [Ape Shit](http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=apeshit) Interesting. I always thought it was just chimps that did that. ---
**Author:** ![Nobody](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/94ad74/32.png) [@Nobody](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nobody)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/37 "2011-10-30T01:33:22Z")
OK, two more then. One, half assed. What does your ass have to do with how much effort you put into something? Oh, and I already looked at Urban dictionary first before posting this, so :p. Two, laughing your ass off. Uhm, it’s your head that does the laughing, so laughing your head off makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Stoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stoid/32/272_2.png) [@Stoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stoid)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/38 "2011-10-30T02:24:20Z")
> [@SeldomSeen](#): > > (And it just occurred to me…“pet peeve” doesn’t make a whole lot of sense either) Sure it does. Pet means favorite, so “my favorite thing that pisses me off” > [@CitizenPained](#): > > I also hate the word ‘extraordinary’. It makes it sound like something is extra-ordinary. You know. Not just plain, but REALLY plain. Yeah, it does sound like that - but it does make sense though, it’s from the Latin: _extra ordinem_, out of the usual order. Outside the ordinary. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 2:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/39 "2011-10-30T02:43:21Z")
Oh, yeah, “half-assed”. Whoever coined that one obviously didn’t know very many mules-- They _never_ do anything in a half-assed way. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [October 30, 2011, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080/40 "2011-10-30T04:31:15Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > One I’ve always wondered about is “head over heels”, to indicate something surprising or extraordinary. Another example of something that started out logical (“heels over head”), got misused a few centuries ago, and the “wrong” version took over. I have no idea why. > [@Half\_Man\_Half\_Wit](#): > > It seems to me that ‘I could care less’ should mean the opposite (or nearly so) of what it appears to mean: if you could care less, there is some degree to which you care; however, the phrase is mostly employed to say ‘I don’t care’, which seems like it would mean you _couldn’t_ care less. In my humble opinion, using the phrase “I could care less” is a sign of sloppy thinking and sloppy speaking. It’s just plain flat-out wrong. Okay, descriptivists, is the target on my back big enough now? 😃 > [@CitizenPained](#): > > Parking in a drive way and driving on a park way. This one makes plenty of sense. A driveway was originally the place where you drove between the road and the garage (or the road and the carriage house, or the road and the courtyard, or whatever). It was, indeed, intended to be driven upon. A parkway was originally a road in a park-like setting, with trees and plants and stuff. The word “park” in the name had nothing to do with parking cars. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/common-english-phrases-that-when-you-really-think-about-it-dont-make-sense/601080.md?page=3)