# More language peeves **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 11, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814 "2005-04-11T17:24:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/1 "2005-04-11T17:24:05Z")
Well, we’ve covered mispronunciation and spelling issues before but how about idioms or phrases. I’ll start with these: Every so often Would of Self for filling prochecy I’ve come across these on the boards and out in real life. ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/2 "2005-04-11T17:33:30Z")
What’s wrong with “every so often?” I’ve heard this phrase, and its cousin, “every once in a while,” all my life. I’m generally as nitpicky as the next person about improper usage, but I’ve never heard anyone complain about these phrases. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/3 "2005-04-11T17:37:10Z")
> [@FatBaldGuy](#): > > What’s wrong with “every so often?” It’s not “ever so often”, which is the original form. ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/4 "2005-04-11T17:39:00Z")
Hey, **FatBaldGuy**. It’s actually “ever so often” which means “a lot.” Most folks confuse it with “every now and then” or “every once in a while” which mean “rarely.” ---
**Author:** ![FatBaldGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecd19e/32.png) [@FatBaldGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FatBaldGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/5 "2005-04-11T17:43:18Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > It’s not “ever so often”, which is the original form. Ever so often is also a common phrase, but not quite the same meaning as every so often. FWIW, Google shows 811,000 hits on “every so often” and only 44,000 on “ever so often.” ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/6 "2005-04-11T17:47:28Z")
> [@jimpatro](#): > > Hey, **FatBaldGuy**. It’s actually “ever so often” which means “a lot.” Most folks confuse it with “every now and then” or “every once in a while” which mean “rarely.” Um, I looked this up in my _Oxford Canadian_, and they had an entry for “every so often” but not “ever so often.” This makes sense – think about it. The phrase _isn’t_ used to mean “very often;” it means “once in a while.” If people did use it to mean very often, “ever so often” would be right, as in “he’s ever so clever” or “it’s ever so dreadful.” But analyze “every so often.” It’s a use of “every” as in “at intervals of.” “So often” would mean “some frequency” (“so” here means “thus,” not “very,” as in “a piece of wood about so big” – so “so often” is “as often as specified.”) So “every so often,” when you analyze it, means “at some given interval,” which is what the phrase means. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/7 "2005-04-11T17:50:58Z")
> [@matt\_mcl](#): > > Um, I looked this up in my _Oxford Canadian_, and they had an entry for “every so often” but not “ever so often.” I’m a USAer, and I’ve never heard “every so often” before, but “ever so often” is pretty common down here. Maybe it’s a regional thing. Anyway, you have two very similar phrases with completely different meanings. That’s a recipe for confusion, and knowing the way things go here, exasperated pit threads. ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/8 "2005-04-11T17:51:56Z")
“Not for nothing…” “At the end of the day…” ---
**Author:** ![tremorviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@tremorviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tremorviolet)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/9 "2005-04-11T17:55:23Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > I’m a USAer, and I’ve never heard “every so often” before, but “ever so often” is pretty common down here. Maybe it’s a regional thing. > > Anyway, you have two very similar phrases with completely different meanings. That’s a recipe for confusion, and knowing the way things go here, exasperated pit threads. You’ve _never_ heard “every so often”? How about “every once in a while”? I’d never heard “ever so often” before. ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/10 "2005-04-11T18:00:06Z")
As the original poster I’ll concede that "ever so often " and “every so often” may be acceptable in different situations and regional usage may be a factor as well. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/11 "2005-04-11T18:06:01Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > I’m a USAer, and I’ve never heard “every so often” before, but “ever so often” is pretty common down here. Maybe it’s a regional thing. > > Anyway, you have two very similar phrases with completely different meanings. That’s a recipe for confusion, and knowing the way things go here, exasperated pit threads. I’m a USAer, too, and I _always_ use (and hear) “ **every** so often.” I’ve heard people use “ever so often” sometimes, but always figured it was just lazy speech, like dropping the “g” off words ending in “ing.” ---
**Author:** ![Fretful\_Porpentine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fretful_porpentine/32/2873_2.png) [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/12 "2005-04-11T18:06:30Z")
“Cliche,” “bias,” and “prejudice” as adjectives. _Cliched. Biased. Prejudiced._ Respect the D. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/13 "2005-04-11T18:41:23Z")
“I really miss not seeing you.” Fine! I’ll leave. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/14 "2005-04-11T19:46:50Z")
> [@ultrafilter](#): > > I’m a USAer, and I’ve never heard “every so often” before, but “ever so often” is pretty common down here. Yup. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/15 "2005-04-11T19:47:56Z")
Nevermind. Should of have read it better.😃 ---
**Author:** ![jimpatro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9e5f3/32.png) [@jimpatro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimpatro)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/16 "2005-04-11T19:51:48Z")
Good one! ---
**Author:** ![MizQuirk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/94ad74/32.png) [@MizQuirk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MizQuirk)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/17 "2005-04-11T19:55:13Z")
‘I could care less’ … when they mean ‘I couldn’t care less.’ It is okay to mention peeves here too, isn’t it? ---
**Author:** ![katie1341](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@katie1341](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katie1341)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/18 "2005-04-11T20:02:34Z")
Instead of “every now and then”, I have always said “Every now and again”. Both of my parents said it, so that’s what I grew up with. It makes my newspaper editor husband want to smack me. ---
**Author:** ![Stainz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@Stainz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stainz)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/19 "2005-04-11T20:28:11Z")
“For all intensive purposes” … ugh!!! ---
**Author:** ![TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tellmei_mnotcrazy/32/3419_2.png) [@TellMeI\_mNotCrazy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TellMeI_mNotCrazy)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2005, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814/20 "2005-04-11T20:32:00Z")
Those who insist that the phrase is “You’ve got another thing coming.” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/more-language-peeves/298814.md?page=2)