# Mistakenly inferring the spelling of a phrase you've only heard. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 10, 2014, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465 "2014-01-10T20:21:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/41 "2014-01-11T19:07:10Z")
A couple years ago a foodie friend of mine left me very confused after going on and on about a great restaurant that only has a prefix meal. I was imagining some kind of odd dinner + word game where every ingredient starts with “in” or “ex” and silently thought that it was the most pretentious and asinine thing I had ever heard. It was a while later before I learned that _Prix Fixe_ was another name for a chef’s tasting menu. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/42 "2014-01-11T19:33:42Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I used to struggle with … \*\* DEB-ackle\*\* … (awry, debacle, misled). :eek::eek: Uh oh. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/43 "2014-01-11T19:36:47Z")
**Infovore:** Aloysius and Ambrosius are alchemists, and will always be located in an environs of some sort. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/44 "2014-01-11T19:39:08Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > It was only a few years ago that I finally figured out that it isn’t “Knights in White Satin”… As differentiated from the “Knights Who Say Knee”? hee hee ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/45 "2014-01-11T19:42:16Z")
**Senegoid:** What the heck is “יהוה”? ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/46 "2014-01-11T20:12:18Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > The Kingdom of Amateur Public Radio Announcers’ Mispronunciations abound with the likes of Claude de_Buss_ie, Camille _Saint-Sains_, and (admittedly, in a slightly lower tier of wrong) RALPH Vaughn-Williams. Don’t sweat it. 🙂 Don’t be silly. My wife’s late piano teacher studied in England and knew the family, who all called him Ralph. Rafe was his affectation and will go on calling him Ralph. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/47 "2014-01-11T20:25:35Z")
Aw, geez, **Napier** , it took me ALL THIS TIME to get your joke in post #22. I must be slipping. --Good one! ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/48 "2014-01-11T21:01:11Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > No, it can’t. “Hear, hear” is correct, and has always been correct for registering agreement. > > “Here, here” can only be appropriate if one knows the answer to the question a teacher is posing to the class, and wishes to attract the notice of the teacher, who is looking around for someone who can provide it. I know we’ve done it a jillion times, but I still feel like the most logical way is, “Hear here,” as in, “hear [what I have to say over [here],” since it’s generally used in crowds, to attract attention to one’s imminent agreement. > [@brujaja](#): > > **Senegoid:** What the heck is “יהוה”? The Hebrew spelling of YHVH, the name of G-d. Or rather, His initials. Supposed to not be spoken in full, but it appears in writing all the time. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/49 "2014-01-11T21:02:07Z")
**Hari Seldon** and **KneadToKnow:** Because I had never heard of “Camille Saint-Sains”, I went and looked it up, and even now am listening to the Seattle Youth Orchestra’s rendition of “Carnival of the Animals.” It is a delightful detour, the kind I cherish; and no longer surprising from the message board that introduced me to “Firefly” and “Invader Zim.” I love this place. And no, Monsieur Saint-Saëns, I don’t think it detracts from your standing as a serious composer at all! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/50 "2014-01-11T21:10:21Z")
> [@brujaja](#): > > **Hari Seldon** and **KneadToKnow:** Because I had never heard of “Camille Saint-Sains”, I went and looked it up, and even now am listening to the Seattle Youth Orchestra’s rendition of “Carnival of the Animals.” You should also check out [Danse Macabre](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71fZhMXlGT4). ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/51 "2014-01-11T21:12:59Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You should also check out [Danse Macabre](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71fZhMXlGT4). Concur with bells and lots of other percussion instruments on. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/52 "2014-01-11T21:15:36Z")
and so I shall, **Little Nemo** , just as soon as I’m done listening to “The Swan” and I get whatever it is out of my eye… ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2014, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/53 "2014-01-11T23:43:32Z")
> [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](#): > > Way back in the olden days on AOL, I wrote “hear hear” in response to a post I agreed with. > > Another poster came in and called me an idiot because it should have been “here here” instead. > > I was embarrassed and had to admit that though I’d heard the phrase all my life, I couldn’t say with any certainty that I’d ever seen it written. > > Another poster eventually came along and disagreed with who the idiot was, but this could have gone either way. I have never gotten this straight. I have heard arguments for both, and whenever a consensus is finally agreed on I forget which it was the next time I need to use it. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/54 "2014-01-12T00:17:34Z")
Chomping at the bit, because, well, you chomp with your mouth, the bit is in the horse’s mouth, and what the hell is champing and if it sounds like chomping why does it have a damn a in it? ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/55 "2014-01-12T00:46:13Z")
Well, **TBG,** that’s a very good question; and so I looked it up. Apparently, “champing” is “chomping impatiently.” In light of that, you can see where “chomping at the bit” might imply complacence, or just enthusiasm. Hece champing. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/56 "2014-01-12T01:04:45Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > I have never gotten this straight. I have heard arguments for both, and whenever a consensus is finally agreed on I forget which it was the next time I need to use it. The consensus is it’s “hear, hear.” It’s being used as a command to listen. Consider the related cries of “hear ye, hear ye” or “oyez oyez” that are used to open a trial. ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/57 "2014-01-12T01:11:16Z")
Well, I watched “Danse Macabre.” (vid of orchestra) That is one awesome violin section. I went on to watch [Introduction et Rondo Capriccioso](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM_QvaormR8) and it just\*\* blew me away\*\*. I have **never** heard a composition for violin quite like that. And the violinist, wow! Such passion! ---
**Author:** ![brujaja](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@brujaja](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brujaja)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465/58 "2014-01-12T01:23:27Z")
[self-hijack] \*\* Rhythmdvl \*\*- I wanted to make sure to say,I feel your pain. Picture this: It is 1979. I am 16. I live in San Bruno, a suburb near San Francisco, culturally miles and miles behind The City. My parents are conservative, and I have never been anywhere good. My social studies class is invited to participate in a “Model U.N.” conference, on the campus of the University of California in Berkeley! We are offered two nations to represent. I volunteer to be Saudi Arabia because this is the days of OPEC and gas shortages, and I wanted to wear the cool headdress and sunglasses. Oh Paradise! I am in Berkeley! I taste my first ever felaffel! We get to the conference. There is a long and erudite discourse about apartheid. Finally, I had to pass a note, and ask a neighboring nation - “What is apartheid?” I didn’t know. Cringe. [/self-hijack] [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mistakenly-inferring-the-spelling-of-a-phrase-youve-only-heard/678465.md?page=2)