No. We’re not talking about phrases that may or may not make sense; we’re talking about phrases that some people mangle. For better or for worse, “The proof is in the pudding” is the phrase that we’ve all heard, it’s not a mangled version of your phrase.
I love this, and always respond with “Cello!”
(former violist here)
Okay. However, the phrase ‘toeing the line’ has nothing to do with performing work but conforming to a position. I don’t know if it’s still the case today but, when ahh was a yungah maan ;), grunts in the military were commanded to toe the line and it meant that everyone in the squad should line up abreast with their toes on the line.
Just because incorrect use of a phrase becomes increasingly common over time, as certainly seems to be the case with the referenced phrase, doesn’t negate its incorrectness. Although, to your point, I concede that everyone pretty much knows what it means, ‘the proof is in the pudding’ on its face simply makes no sense, and is a mangling of the original phrase.
I once heard a friend use the phrase “to thy known self be true.”
The correct version is “to thine own self be true.”
Just thought of one that used to bother me when I was a kid. The lyrics to the Iron Maiden song Afraid to Shoot Strangers include an excerpt from the Anglican version of the Lord’s Prayer, but with the word shall substituted for with:
I nearly wrote Steve Harris a letter when I was about 9 explaining that it didn’t make any sense if you substituted shall for will, since that wasn’t the sort of will the prayer was talking about.
I have a friend who mangles them on purpose. He claims I am the only one who has ever noticed, but I suspect most people just don’t want to embarrass him by pointing it out. Two of his favorites are: *Six of one and a dime a dozen. *And: We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it.
Most of my favourites are already posted, but another one that irritates me is “to step foot” instead of “to set foot”-- grrrrr
Jewellery is an alternate version of the jewelry with the pronunciation you mention.
Hey! I say that, too! It’s never gotten a laugh in 20 years, but I’ll be damned if I’m gonna stop now.
Way back when, a friend of mine turned me on to the phrase “I’ll jump off that bridge when I get to it.” Used to drive the counselors nuts!
Not very common, but I used to hear this when people are discussing the number of players on a sports team or to describe their ammunition count.
“…a full complement…”
grrr… A complete set of something *is *a complement. As in “I have my complement of tools” (right) or “The Dolphins have their full complement of time outs” (wrong)
ETA: Just remembered: I saw this in an article describing Carmello Anthony’s upcoming wedding. The couple was described as “Nooyuricans”. This was meant to be a compliment, not a disparagement. Right.
Thank you, thank you. It drives me crazy, and it seems to be becoming more common all the time.
In the last 2-3 years, somehow “ect.” has become commonly misused for “etc.” I just saw it used the wrong way on the Dope, and I am resisting the temptation to Pit the user.
Because “to comprise” means “to include.” The phrase they were looking for is “is composed [made up] of.”
No. You are conflating “acceptance” with “correctness,” when the spirit of the OP was to point out deficiencies of the latter. I know that’s the phrase everyone hears, but you can’t argue that it’s a mangled form of the original–popular acceptance notwithstanding.
Apart from just being incorrect, ‘towing the line’ doesn’t really make sense either - he’s towing the barge, using the line. The towed object is not the tow rope.
Just the other day, I heard “I ain’t ate.”
I’ve also heard:
“Him home.”
“You had to took it.”
“Mens like football.”
“My feets is hurting.”
“He ain’t woke.”
“I got mines.”
And my favorite: “Well, is you or is you ain’t?”
While it may be incorrect to say it that way, it actually has a similar meaning. When you truly know yourself you want to be true to who you are.
Again, that ship has sailed:
“Taken for granite.”
“Decimate” to destroy utterly, rather than to reduce by a tenth. Only General William Westmoreland could have ever seriously confused the two.