# Commonly Misunderstood/Misused Words or Phrases **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 16, 2005, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922 "2005-12-16T15:48:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**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:** [June 23, 2014, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/61 "2014-06-23T01:39:24Z")
Reign in. Neigh! When you shorten the reins by gathering them up in your hands, you put pressure on the bit, slowing the horse. Rein in. While we’re on the subject of horses, although off topic, if you want to known as an ignoramus in the world of horsemanship, call it “horse riding”. No one calls it that. It is correctly termed, for whatever reason, as either “horseback riding” or merely “riding”. ---
**Author:** ![movingfinger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@movingfinger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/movingfinger)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/62 "2014-06-23T07:30:32Z")
A battle that I fear is lost is trying to correct the use of careening instead of careering. A runaway car careers down a street. A ship is careened by hauling it up onto a beach to clean and repair the hull. I haven’t checked this out in a dictionary in years and for all I know careen has replaced career as the language gets another kick in the crotch. ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 8:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/63 "2014-06-23T08:36:53Z")
It’s “run the gantlet,” not “run the gauntlet.” A gantlet is a form of punishment where someone has to run between two rows of people who hit him as he goes by. A gauntlet is a type of glove. ---
**Author:** ![Superhal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Superhal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superhal)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/64 "2014-06-23T09:04:37Z")
Oh, not sure if this is appropriate for this thread, but here’s a joke: Did you hear GW Bush is visiting Tony Blair, the Prime Minister of England, this week? He decided to study some phrases in English to impress the PM. [Bushisms.](http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/bushisms/2000/03/the_complete_bushisms.single.html) My fav: “Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?”—Florence, S.C., Jan. 11, 2000 ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/65 "2014-06-23T10:34:18Z")
Bemuse. It means to bewilder or confuse. But I often hear it used to mean essentially the same thing as “amuse”. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 12:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/66 "2014-06-23T12:34:06Z")
> [@zagloba](#): > > But how many other word pairs are both homonyms and (nearly) antonyms? The word you’re looking for is homophone, not homonym. Homonyms is both spelt and pronounced the same way. If they’re merely pronounced the same way, they’re homophones. (And same spelling, different pronunciation - lead and lead for instance - are homographs.) ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/67 "2014-06-23T13:00:52Z")
Not that I would expect anyone to use this or would think of “correcting” them… But that thing on your patio with the webbing or the padding you recline on? It’s not a chaise lounge…it’s a chaise longue — literally “long chair” from the French. An interesting example of taking a term from one language to another and then substituting a more familiar word. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/68 "2014-06-23T13:06:32Z")
> [@Superhal](#): > > You can end a sentence with a preposition: > I’ll do it when the game is over. > Your mother stopped by. > Why is the light on? Agreed that it’s not a crime to end a sentence with a preposition. But while the words at the end of your examples can be and often are prepositions, they’re not used as such in your examples. Each is an adverb in this case. ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/69 "2014-06-23T13:07:59Z")
> [@Kamino\_Neko](#): > > Homonyms is both spelt and pronounced the same way. Ugh. So much editing fail, there. :smack: Homonyms ARE both spelt and pronounced the same way. (I’d originally written the sentence as singular, decided it should be plural, and goofed it.) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/70 "2014-06-23T14:11:30Z")
As this is an older thread I haven’t gone to the trouble to see if this has already been addressed. I almost started a thread on the idea, but figured there may not be all that many other examples of the notion. That said, aside from the obvious incest overtones, the most likely synonym for **motherfucker** is _ **father** _. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/71 "2014-06-23T14:29:04Z")
> [@movingfinger](#): > > I haven’t checked this out in a dictionary in years and for all I know careen has replaced career as the language gets another kick in the crotch. Since without these kicks, there’d be no language at all, I think we should, on the whole, be grateful. I don’t have many rules or expectations, but if you are going to complain about literally as an intensifier or “I could care less” or “less items” in the grocery store, then I expect you to remember that grammar is the underlying system of rules that govern construction within a language and by definition, a native speaker cannot speak something ‘ungrammatical’. If however, you admit that words and phrases are mutable, then by all means, use grammar as a catchall for spelling, punctuation and syntax. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/72 "2014-06-23T15:03:01Z")
Ratchet is a wrench. Retched is the past tense of retch, which is to vomit. Wretched is a miserable individual. ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/73 "2014-06-23T15:27:44Z")
Speaking of importing words from French, I’ve always been curious as to how “lingerie” came to be pronounced in English with a long A sound at the end, when it certainly is not in French. Always seemed to me to be an example of faux elegance or something, as other French words with an “é” at the end would have that pronunciation. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/74 "2014-06-23T15:44:38Z")
That one phrase should be “…before I _fired_ my M-14.” Another wrong usage is a line from the song “Volare” (in English): “…away from the maddening crowd.” _Madding_ is the correct word here, even if it doesn’t scan. …“But I’ll be damned if I’ll be crammed on a bicycle built for two!” ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/75 "2014-06-23T15:51:33Z")
Furniture store owners: It’s bedroom suite as in _sweet_, not _soot_. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/76 "2014-06-23T15:52:04Z")
> [@Dogzilla](#): > > Ratchet is a wrench. > > Retched is the past tense of retch, which is to vomit. > > Wretched is a miserable individual. That’s a pretty ratchet way to look at language. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/77 "2014-06-23T16:07:41Z")
This can be hepful sometimes. If you’re looking for a nice chest of drawers on ebay, also search for chester drawers. Also foot stall. I got a foot stool for £1 (usual selling price: £90) because it was misadvertised. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/78 "2014-06-23T18:56:53Z")
I have a question: Is it “all tolled” or “all told”? (I’ve always thought it should be the former, but I suspect it is the latter, which is what I usually see.) ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/79 "2014-06-23T19:05:04Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > I have a question: > Is it “all tolled” or “all told”? (I’ve always thought it should be the former, but I suspect it is the latter, which is what I usually see.) IMHO, a case could be made for either, if the context permitted. “All Told” might be kin to “All that being said…” “All tolled” might substitute for “all totaled” (bottom line…) My vote for most frequent of the two without a contextual background would be the “all told” version. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2014, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922/80 "2014-06-23T21:00:04Z")
Is it “worse comes to worst” or “worst comes to worst?” I want to know so I can haughtily correct those who get it ‘wrong.’ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commonly-misunderstood-misused-words-or-phrases/335922.md?page=5)