# phrases you have said wrong **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 11, 2016, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635 "2016-09-11T12:35:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flaming\_yawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cab0a1/32.png) [@flaming\_yawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flaming_yawn)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/1 "2016-09-11T12:35:44Z")
phrases you have said wrong or used completely wrong? My sons friend wanted something heated up because it was only “nuke warm” all her life she has been saying nuke warm and didnt know it was lukewarm…I have another but just in case a family member is reading this :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/2 "2016-09-11T14:36:00Z")
…a certain type of steak that sounds like dragon’s breath? 😃 Actually, as long as I’ve been aware of the pun, I’ve purposely tried to say “flaming yawn” when I order filet mignon in a restaurant and I can’t tell the difference. But that probably doesn’t count with regard to the OP because it’s on purpose, I just had to get it out there. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/3 "2016-09-11T14:41:26Z")
My daughter recently explained that she’s “on a tight times table, here.” ---
**Author:** ![flaming\_yawn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/cab0a1/32.png) [@flaming\_yawn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flaming_yawn)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/4 "2016-09-11T17:14:49Z")
I once heard a lady order JAP a lean o peppers at subway… ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/5 "2016-09-11T17:25:50Z")
I used to say “bull size” for “bull’s eye” as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/6 "2016-09-11T17:35:45Z")
I had to use the dictionary to convince my mother that one has pubic, not public, hair. ---
**Author:** ![Cayuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Cayuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cayuga)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/7 "2016-09-11T18:56:44Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > I had to use the dictionary to convince my mother that one has pubic, not public, hair. The first time I encountered the concept of pubic hair, being too young yet to have any myself, was in a book that typoed the term. I figured out what it was from context, but I swear the book called it “public hair.” Given that that’s the opposite of what it is, I parsed the word very carefully, letter by letter. Definitely “public hair.” Maybe your mom read the same book. ---
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/8 "2016-09-11T20:13:56Z")
> [@flaming\_yawn](#): > > I once heard a lady order JAP a lean o peppers at subway… Was she British? It is apparently not uncommon for the islanders to [butcher the pronunciation](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=593303). ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/9 "2016-09-11T20:24:04Z")
A co-worker announced she was going to chipotle for lunch. She pronounced it chip-ta-LAY. mmm ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/10 "2016-09-11T20:24:07Z")
More of a spoonerism than ignorance of the phrase, but I once said something was as likely to happen as a camel passing through the knee of an idol. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/11 "2016-09-11T20:25:45Z")
Oh, and in a D&D game, I described a hallway as being lit with burning brassieres. Turns out you pronounce “brazier” totally differently. ---
**Author:** ![Idle\_Thoughts](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/838e76/32.png) [@Idle\_Thoughts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Idle_Thoughts)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/12 "2016-09-11T20:35:58Z")
Moving to IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![alfonzos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4bbf92/32.png) [@alfonzos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alfonzos)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/13 "2016-09-11T21:42:54Z")
As a child I thought “the shy’s the limit” was “disguise the limit.” If you don’t know what the limit looks like then there is a chance that you will go beyond it. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2016, 10:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/14 "2016-09-11T22:10:12Z")
> [@alfonzos](#): > > As a child I thought “the shy’s the limit” was “disguise the limit.” If you don’t know what the limit looks like then there is a chance that you will go beyond it. Ummm…I have some further news for you. mmm ---
**Author:** ![kopek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kopek/32/337_2.png) [@kopek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kopek)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/15 "2016-09-12T00:37:07Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > I used to say “bull size” for “bull’s eye” as a kid. I used to say “bull’s side” until I realized that wasn’t very small as targets go and put two and two together. What surprised me more is that I can’t recall ever being corrected on it. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/16 "2016-09-12T00:54:06Z")
My boss says “in the meanwhile” all the time. This is unbelievably grating to my ears. It’s either “meanwhile, blah blah” or “in the meantime, blah”, but _never_ “in the meanwhile”. He’s from South Africa so maybe it’s a thing there, but I’ve met many South Africans and none of them say that. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/17 "2016-09-12T01:48:54Z")
I had a boss years ago who CONSTANTLY said “for all intensive purposes” - several times a day. I think I wore my teeth down from gritting them. My partner had a work colleague who said “simplistic” when she meant “simple” EVERY SINGLE TIME. Argh! It’s like they some intuition they’re doing it wrong, so try to compensate by repetition. ---
**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:** [September 12, 2016, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/18 "2016-09-12T02:08:44Z")
When I first heard the phrase, “First one out of the chute,” I was a kid, and I thought it was “First one out of the shoe.” I found out some years later what the correct word was, but it was too late. It’s still ‘First one out of the shoe’ for me. [Cool thing about idioms. They don’t have to mean anything literal.] ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/19 "2016-09-12T02:09:37Z")
My co-worker says “flush it out” when she means “flesh it out”. Doesn’t seem like a big deal, but she uses it every day, and in situations where it’s obviously not what she means. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2016, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635/20 "2016-09-12T02:16:22Z")
“Chalk full” instead of chock full. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/phrases-you-have-said-wrong/765635.md?page=2)