# evenly misquoted expressions... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 17, 2000, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760 "2000-08-17T18:40:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![jcgmoi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a9adbd/32.png) [@jcgmoi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jcgmoi)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/21 "2000-08-17T22:55:43Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by lissener \* > \*\* > Nucular just makes me cringe._\* Me too. But did you hear George W. in the primary season refer to “tacular missiles”? Apparently he has some real problems with “nuclear” as it was spelled phonetically (as “noo-clee-arr”) in the text for his acceptance speech. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/22 "2000-08-17T22:59:06Z")
> [@](#): > > John Henry, instead of John Hancock Aren’t they both correct, depending on which side of the pond you are on? For example, in A Hard Day’s Night, Paul’s Grandfather says “Can I have your John Henry?” Of course, it wouldn’t make too much sense of the Brits said John Hancock, would it? ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/23 "2000-08-17T23:45:14Z")
Here is the granddaddy of all misquotes. Alexander Pope’s _An Essay on Criticism_ begins: **"A little learning is a dangerous thing; Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring."** I wish I had a nickel for every time I hear some yahoo pretending to literacy, misquoting it as **"A little knowledge is a dangerous thing."** These people of little learning are themselves illustrating what the poet was warning against. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2000, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/24 "2000-08-17T23:47:33Z")
Did anyone see “WWtBaM?” the night Regis pronounced _coup d’etat_ “coop day-datt”? The contestant started to crack up, then saw Regis had no idea what he was laughing about, and nipped his laughter in the butt. And am I the only one who finds the widely used fake work “guesstimate” completely mystifying? _It means exactly the same thing_ as the perfectly good word it’s slowly replacing. And “chaise lounge” instead of _chaise longue_. And thanks, pluto, for reminding me about “volumptuous.” It’s a great word, but hardly means the same thing as _voluptuous_. It certainly doesn’t seem to be as complimentary (as opposed to _complementary_, another one!). And who’s the British John Henry? I only know him as the American steel driving man. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/25 "2000-08-18T00:37:16Z")
> [@](#): > > For example, in A Hard Day’s Night, Paul’s Grandfather says “Can I have your John Henry?” Of course, it wouldn’t make too much sense of the Brits said John Hancock, would it? “John Henry” doesn’t make much sense, either, unless you want a spike driven. And “John Henry” is distinctly an American Icon, though not an American revolutionary. I wonder why the Brits would morph it in this fashion. At least it hasn’t been morphed into “John Thomas”. ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/26 "2000-08-18T01:06:01Z")
[QUOTE] \*Originally posted by yabob \* \*\* > [@](#): > > At least it hasn’t been morphed into “John Thomas”. > \*\* Maybe he was a steel driving man but you’d have to get a quote from his girlfriend. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/27 "2000-08-18T01:07:49Z")
> [@](#): > > And am I the only one who finds the widely used fake work “guesstimate” completely mystifying? It means exactly the same thing as the perfectly good word it’s slowly replacing. Actually, I think that one has some utility. It conveys the idea that you are trying to estimate a quantity of some sort, but you arrived at it by a means that you don’t have a high degree of confidence in, as opposed to a “real” estimate that’s based on something more concrete. Or as opposed to just the word “guess” which doesn’t convey the idea of quantity. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/28 "2000-08-18T01:21:24Z")
It’s **buck-naked** , not **butt-naked**. The origin of “buck-naked” is unclear, but it’s right nonetheless. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/29 "2000-08-18T01:23:12Z")
Two otgher expressions: bobbed wire dire straights As for “to all intents and purposes” vs. “for all intents and purposes”, “Money is the root of all evil” vs. “The love of money is the root of all evil”. “A little learning is a dangerous thing” vs “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” I find it ridiculuous to complain just because of a rewording. For the Yorick quote, okay, the person is obviously quoting Shakespeare, and failing. But how many people say “for all intents of purpose” with the intent of quoting some obscure English document? Or “money is the root of all evil” with the intent of quoting the Bible? Or “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing” to quote Pope? > [@](#): > > These people of little learning are themselves illustrating what the poet was warning against. Huh? How does saying “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing” instead of “A little learning is a dangerous thing” a dangerous thing? I think you need to get that stick out of your ass. ---
**Author:** ![tomas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tomas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomas)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/30 "2000-08-18T01:32:05Z")
How about regardlesss and irregardless? I don’t think irregardless is even a word, but I hear people use it all the time. ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/31 "2000-08-18T01:34:03Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **lissener** _ > And “chaise lounge” instead of _chaise longue_. Another of my favorites, but I’m afraid we’ve lost this one. I have only heard this pronounced “shayz long” once in my entire life, and that was a book on tape. I wish we could just drop the phrase entirely. _Lounge chair_, mentioned above, seems like a reasonable replacement. ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/32 "2000-08-18T01:42:17Z")
“Music soothes a savage beast” instead of **breast**. “Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, To soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.” -_William Congreve_ ---
**Author:** ![Shaky\_Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90db22/32.png) [@Shaky\_Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shaky_Jake)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/33 "2000-08-18T02:07:59Z")
Not to turn this into GD… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Ryan \* > > As for “to all intents and purposes” vs. “for all intents and purposes”, “Money is the root of all evil” vs. “The love of money is the root of all evil”. > > I find it ridiculuous to complain just because of a rewording. The “for all intents” vs. “to all intents” is admittedly nit-picking. I don’t think it matters. I was mainly curious as to which one was considered “correct” by the mavens, and why, and if there was a regional difference in usage. As far as the “money” business, there is a vast difference between “money is…” and "_the love of_ money is. In the former, one is saying that money itself is what lies behind all evil. The latter emphasizes that money, like all objects and tool, is neither good nor evil. Rather, it is humanity’s motivation - the love of money - that is the source of evil. I truly don’t think that everyone understands this - it is not always the case that they mean to convey the latter message, and understand it, but employ the former. In sum, it is not just a rewording, but a change in the very meaning of the message, and the original (true to some extent IMHO) meaning is lost on some people. As Bill S. would say, I’m at the ramparts on this one (and that’s Safire, not that other fella). **Pluto** Instead of admitting defeat, maybe we can work out a negotiated peace. We’ll give 'em chaise lounge (while practicing civil disobedience with chaise longue), but win a concession on “bedroom suite”. At least here in the South, a “bedroom suite” is pronounced “suit”, as in “of clothes”. I always think “you paid 2 grand for PJs, and someone has to deliver them? This I gotta see. Must be some ass-kicking jammies”. Shaky Jake ---
**Author:** ![screech-owl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@screech-owl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/screech-owl)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/34 "2000-08-18T02:42:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shaky Jake \* > \*\* > Not to turn this into GD… > > At least here in the South, a “bedroom suite” is pronounced “suit”, as in “of clothes”. I always think “you paid 2 grand for PJs, and someone has to deliver them? This I gotta see. Must be some ass-kicking jammies”. > > Shaky Jake > \*\* Thank you Shaky Jake! I thought I was hearing things when my roommate (he delivers furniture) would talk about ‘bedroom suits’, not ‘bedroom suites’ New pet peeve: Is this a new pronounciation, or have I just not noticed: - protein. I and other people I know say ‘pro-teen’, but I hear Paul Harvey saying ‘pro-tee-in’. Is this a regionalism too, or do I have a dictionary with a typo? ---
**Author:** ![pluto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f08c70/32.png) [@pluto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pluto)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/35 "2000-08-18T04:49:23Z")
I think that’s probably just Paul Harvey being deliberately distinctive. My wife’s grandmother used to pronounce vegetables as “vej-uh-TAY-bulls”, not only getting all four syllables in, but moving the accent as well. It was just one of the many ways she had of getting attention. ---
**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:** [August 18, 2000, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/36 "2000-08-18T05:00:00Z")
“Protein” is pronounced “pro-teen”, but there’s a completely different word, “protean”, which is pronounced with three syllables… Is that maybe what you’re thinking of? It means “versatile” or “adaptible”, and comes from Proteus, a shape-shifting monster from Greek myth. ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/37 "2000-08-18T05:00:41Z")
_Shrugs_ I don’t know why the Brits say John Henry, I don’t even know for sure if they do. I will admit, the extent of my knowledge IS from A Hard Day’s Night, written by a Welsh guy who wanted to infuse the script with Liverpudlian colloquialisms. ---
**Author:** ![Luckie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dc4da7/32.png) [@Luckie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Luckie)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/38 "2000-08-18T05:59:07Z")
hmmmm, sounds like a post for MPSIMS. but I don’t have the power to move it so i must just add to the pile here. so much to reply to… panama jack: I had always heard “another think coming”. I don’t know if that was the original expression, but used in the context you mentioned ( " If you think your gonna stay out till 2 Aye Emm, you got another think comin’ mister!") the think version is certainly wittier and makes more sense. Myron Van Horowitzski: my favorite mixed metaphor is “we’ll burn that bridge when we come to it”. Miss Bunny: Alas, that is oft misquoted. Another example would be “the best laid plans of mice and men oft’ gang a’glay”. … -luckie ---
**Author:** ![The\_Ryan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7feea3/32.png) [@The\_Ryan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Ryan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/39 "2000-08-18T06:31:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shaky Jake \* > \*\*As far as the “money” business, there is a vast difference between “money is…” and "_the love of_ money is. In the former, one is saying that money itself is what lies behind all evil. The latter emphasizes that money, like all objects and tool, is neither good nor evil. Rather, it is humanity’s motivation - the love of money - that is the source of evil. I certainly agree that in this case, the meaning is changed from the original… but why is the original any more valid than the more common version? If someone honestly believes that money is the root of all evil, is there anything wrong with that person expressing that belief? And if someone doesn’t believe it, and is just repeating what they’ve heard, how is mindlessly repeating something in the Bible any better than mindlessly repeating something not in the Bible? I think that people’s statements should be judged on their own merits, not compared to irrelevant literary works. For instance, when referring to preventive measures, “nip in the bud”, by itself, makes more sense than “nip in the butt” by itself. You don’t have to look up anything to figure that out. ---
**Author:** ![Danielinthewolvesden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ce7236/32.png) [@Danielinthewolvesden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Danielinthewolvesden)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2000, 7:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760/40 "2000-08-18T07:55:14Z")
“What we have here is…failure to communicate”= right “What we have here is A failure to communicate”= wrong A small nit pick, but it does change the meaning a bit. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/evenly-misquoted-expressions/29760.md?page=3)