Much like the “Water of the womb” quote, there’s no evidence that the “master of one” quote is the original.
Good thing, though, because to add to the fun, the French word for “flammable” is “inflammable”. So trucks based in Quebec that haul gasoline or propane or whatever have large signage that says “INFLAMMABLE”. If “inflammable” meant the opposite of “flammable” in English it could create some interesting confusion! It would also add interest to bilingual truck signage that says: “INFLAMMABLE / FLAMMABLE”. Which in fact I’ve actually seen. Must be a real head-scratcher to anyone who thinks the words are opposites.
“Ignorance is bliss” as though being stupid and unaware is a GOOD thing. No, the original quote is “When ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise” meaning just that sometimes learning more about a specific situation might cause a loss of happiness or satisfaction. It’s a cautionary, warning against picking too hard at a delicate state of being–what it is NOT is a blanket endorsement of intentional stupidity.
In my experience, the shortened phrase still means exactly what you describe as the “original” meaning. It’s used with respect to someone’s (lack of) knowledge of something specific.
If I’m mistaken, perhaps I’ll be happier just remaining unaware of how the kids are using it these days.
I never really hear it that way, unless it’s sarcastically. It’s usually used more like “plausible deniability,” basically the less I know about some bad thing the better.
ninja’d!
I occasionally hear people say that important services, concepts, and even people "fall between the cracks, or got lost between the cracks. What they mean is exactly the opposite. Between the cracks is still on the floor, not lost. Those things, or people, fell through the cracks between the boards or stones.
A “quantum leap” in technology.
The origin of this expression is likely the “quantum jump”, which is pretty much as small a transition as is physically possible. Granted, it’s an immediate, discontinuous transition, so some uses of quantum leap are consistent in that sense. But often the implication is very big, so quite different to the original meaning.
“Quantum” is now a synonym for “magic”.