Mangled and abused words and phrases
- Thread starter Humpback
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earlier on this year i put up a frame for a sign on the flat roof of my mate's building, as i was fitting the frame the sign writers were getting ready to fit the pre-made sign to the frame. i asked about "color", and "gray" and was informed that they're both the correct spelling because the spellchecker on word said so. i just smiled and walked away
Coggle...to wobble..strange that one. In Yorkshire we would say "gisa cog to shop" or coggy. Meaning a lift on back of yer push iron. It wouldn't mean the same for a lift on a motor bike as it referred to the swaying motion that would occur as the lad on the front pedaling would have a wobble on due to lad on back
Molly coddle.....now there's a word....or for yor lot that are so uptight...two words
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Chisellers signature I look on just as I would one in latin; it's just a kind of neat wee phrase
Mary
I think I'm right in saying that Chiseller's signature "Git R Dun" (surely "Git'r'dun"? Who knows?) is actually taken from the US comedy character, Larry The Cable Guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OtAUsVXB9OU
Something else that gets right on my ti ... er ... nerves is the McDonalds "I'm loving it", which seems to have permeated into everyday conversation.
Having said that, this thread: I'm loving it! Heh heh!
A phrase I hear in the stores around here at the checkout is "Did you find everything OK?"
Everything is NOT OK.
Everything is NOT OK.
What quite literally grates my soul is when the yoof of today walk round with their hands down the front of their TROUSERS (not pants, thank you very much!) trying to talk like black gangsters. Ali G was amusing when he first appeared on our screens, but it seems he may have strated off an epidemic of wannabes...
That's a saying that will never die!
"I was like (...)"
No, you were not like. You said or you thought.
The Dutch version - "Ik had zoiets van" - means even less.
"Defiantly"
That is definitely - see that word? - too wrong to be called a spelling error.
Of course there are many things I just don't understand... if "All is not well", then nothing is well, right? But it means "Not all is well." It's normal English, but things like that regularly trip me up
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ASDA royally nark me off with their incorrect usage of the apostrophe, it is CDs you muppets, not; CD's, just for good measure there is also Tesco:
You don't understand or you JUST don't understand? Which is it?
I just (merely) don't understand.
It's for balance.
It's quirky!
A phrase I hear in the stores around here at the checkout is "Did you find everything OK?"
Everything is NOT OK.
Your quite right, it should be "did you find everything okay"
Because language gives an insight into what's important to a culture. For example the Eskimo have multiple words that all mean "snow" but each one denotes a different type of snow: a wet snow, a blowing snow, a packed snow, etc. because that's obviously important to their culture. Likewise many Mille Eastern languages have multiple words for sandstorms or winds because it's important to their culture. So what does the English lanquage (and other European languages) similarly reflect as important to our culture? Bourbon, scotch, tequila, rum, wine, beer, brandy, etc. All different words denoting different types of alcoholic beverages.
Unless you were "stood up." As in, I was supposed to have a date but was stood up."
Those are the correct spellings over here now. "Color" was the correct spelling at least as far back as when my grandparents learned over a century ago. "Gray" on the other hand is more a more recent evolution (since I left school) It would appear that the spell checking function was written by an American company, or for an American market.
"Git R done" as used by Larry the cable guy should be spelled "Git 'er done" as it's a colloquial contraction for "Get her done."
The mcDonald's phrase isn't really "permeating" everyday conversation but rather was taken from current everyday speech.
On their sodding coffee cups it's even stylised as "i'm lovin' it" - They can't even capitalise the 'I'!
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