this post was submitted on 29 Jan 2025
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Please state in which country your phrase tends to be used, what the phrase is, and what it should be.

Example:

In America, recently came across "back-petal", instead of back-pedal. Also, still hearing "for all intensive purposes" instead of "for all intents and purposes".

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[–] ThatWeirdGuy1001@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago

I don't generally correct people's spelling or pronunciation but something I've noticed occurring more and more lately is people using "loose" when they mean "lose" and it gets under my skin for unknown reasons

[–] Scott_of_the_Arctic@lemmy.world 9 points 3 hours ago

I ~~could~~ couldn't care less

Hold ~~down~~ the fort

The proof ~~is in the pudding~~ of the pudding is in the eating

~~elon musk~~ Twat

[–] cheers@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago

Can someone explain DEI and Affirmative action? 99% sure the right is using it wrong, but I live in a red state.

[–] pyre@lemmy.world 3 points 2 hours ago

I don't do it that much anymore as I learned to enjoy the freedom of using language, but I recently watched a miniminuteman video where he says pause for concern. which kinda makes sense so it's an eggcorn: something that would cause concern would hopefully also make one pause for a moment.

apparently this is a commonly misheard phrase though this was the first time I heard someone say it.

[–] Usernameblankface@lemmy.world 3 points 3 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago)

In American English:

I left them know

I'm just leaving you know

No, no, a thousand times no!

You LET them know. You're just LETTING me know.

Also, they were driving and hit the breaks. Their car needed new break pads.

Just letting y'all know, it's BRAKES that stop a vehicle.

If the vehicle breaks, it'll stop, but that's not the system built into the car that makes it stop on purpose at the press of a pedal.

i feel like we should be able to beat the living shit out of people intentionally spreading political misinformation.

Like im sorry, this may not meet instance rules, or whatever, but like, holy fuck, the amount of shit you can just lie about, without people asking question, kneecaps should've happened years ago, what the fuck are we doing bro.

[–] shasta@lemm.ee 7 points 10 hours ago

"per say" vs "per se"

[–] mkhopper@lemmy.world 4 points 8 hours ago (1 children)

"Seen".
Holy fuck, "seen".

I honestly think that using this word incorrectly has gotten worse over the last few years. Hearing someone say, "yeah, I seen her yesterday" just makes me want to punch the wall.

[–] sik0fewl@lemmy.ca 2 points 8 hours ago

I saw her. That is to say I seen her.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 14 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago) (1 children)

I'm still confused that reckless driving causes wrecks.

[–] sik0fewl@lemmy.ca 1 points 7 hours ago

This is a good one.

This is what is called a lonely negative. It's where we only have the negative version of a word. This could be because the original word fell out of use or we stole the negative word from another language without stealing the positive.

"Reck" meant something like "care" - it has nothing to do with "wreck".

Another good example is "disgust," which we got from French. Anyone familiar with French, Italian or Spanish will probably recognize the verb "gustar" (or something similar).

[–] SocialMediaRefugee@lemmy.world 12 points 12 hours ago (1 children)
[–] weew@lemmy.ca 1 points 7 hours ago

It's more bestester

[–] Telodzrum@lemmy.world 6 points 10 hours ago (3 children)

“Saying the quiet part out loud.”

Saying things out loud is how you say them.

It’s “saying the quiet part loud.”

[–] pyre@lemmy.world 2 points 2 hours ago

wow this is too pedantic even for this thread

[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 1 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

Quiet can mean either low volume or silent. So it's saying the silent part out loud-- there's no contradiction here.

[–] Telodzrum@lemmy.world 1 points 43 minutes ago (1 children)

Nope, quiet doesn’t mean silent on the context of verbal expression (saying something). Saying something at all indicates an audiblity. Even if that wasn’t the case, the second half clears this up for us if the distinction is between what is normal and “out loud,” then the only natural conclusion is that the alternative, expected method is silent and inaudible. Were this to be accurate it confounds the overall message and renders it illogical.

Be better, people.

[–] tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip 1 points 35 minutes ago

The quiet (silent) part isn't normally said. That's why the meaning is "you're saying all the parts out loud together, even the parts that are supposed to be silent/quiet". There was no indication that the "quiet part" was a verbal expression before the "out loud" modifier.

[–] theherk@lemmy.world 2 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (1 children)

I think it is common to distinguish between whispering something and saying it out loud or aloud. Like if you say something private in a theatre louder than meant, your date might say, “Shh, you said that out loud.” Otherwise “out loud” would have no place at all as “say” alone would cover this meaning.

You’re right about the saying, but I think that explains the malapropism.

[–] Telodzrum@lemmy.world 1 points 46 minutes ago (1 children)
[–] theherk@lemmy.world 1 points 43 minutes ago

So, can you clarify the difference between “to say something” and “to say something out loud”?

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 8 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago) (1 children)

On the US one thing is different from another, not than. One thing differs from another. It's different from the other thing.

Although in the UK it's "different to" for some reason.

[–] boonhet@lemm.ee 2 points 4 hours ago

Even outside the US, I think from is more common.

[–] cokeslutgarbage@lemmy.world 11 points 14 hours ago

Idk if this counts as a phrase, but on the internet, people talk about their pets crossing the rainbow bridge when they die. That's not how the rainbow bridge poem goes. Pets go to a magnificent field when they die. They are healed of all injury and illness. When you die, they find you in the field and you cross the bridge together. It's much sweeter the way it was written than the way people use it.

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