Slight hijack: I’d much rather hear people mispronounce words they’ve read (genre, facade, etc.) than to mis-spell words they’ve heard. If they’re mispronouncing words they’ve read but not heard, at least it means they read. If they mis-spell words they only hear (viola instead of voila, could of instead of could have) it means they don’t read.
I know it’s snobbery on my part. But if it’s automatically clear that a person doesn’t read, I think a little less of them. If they brag about the fact that they never read, I think a lot less of them.
I would like to claim that I did that on purpose to see if anyone would catch it. That would be untrue, though. Sometimes these things confuse me and I get it wrong.
Wait, which are you saying is incorrect? There was an entire thread about this a while back, and I was flabbergasted at the number of Dopers who insisted that “another thing coming” is correct. What does that even mean? I’ve got a thing coming? What thing? Why?
“Think” was the original version. One of many cites I’ve found: The saying 'Another think coming' - meaning and origin. . Granted, “think” isn’t normally used as a noun, but in the context of this cutesified expression, it makes sense. “If you think such-and-such, you’ve got another think coming.” In other words, you’re wrong, and need to think again.
Despite the thread title, it seems we’re talking about phrases written down, incorrectly, by people who heard the sounds but didn’t understand the words.
“Thing” makes perfect sense: “If you think that X is true, then you’ve got another thing [other than what you expected] coming.” For example, “if you think you’re going out tonight, you’ve got another thing (e.g. being grounded, doing chores, etc.) coming.”
I have been waiting for a thread like this even since I read in a co-worker’s document "The client quote on quote stated “he hit me in the face.” " It drives me nuts.
I don’t think that this is quite what everyone else in the thread is getting at, but my co -worker must have heard someone say “quote, end quote” and then thought it was acceptable to write it out. I get a little embarassed for her everytime I see it.
In popular usage, “begging the question” is often used to mean that a statement invites another obvious question. This usage is stated to be incorrect in The Oxford Guide to English Usage, 1st edition; “raises the question” is suggested as a more appropriate alternative. Improper usage of the term often makes the user appear uneducated; this is presumably the opposite effect the user intends by using the term.
