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[NYCmetsfan]

i think most of these errors come from hearing things spoken but never reading them. so basically people who are poorly read suffer from these problems. a big one i see here on gaf is yay or nay instad of yea or nay. yea and yay sound the same so this error is understandable, although again it seems to be a symptom of being poorly read, or maybe a failure to pay attention in high school civics.

another thing, it is not an idiom but on the internet you see should of, would of, etc a lot, because they sound like should've, would've. it is an error only a native speaker would make. the esl learner would say wtf does "of" coming after would or should even mean?

Learned this from spending a lot of time looking up congressional votes. But there's also ayes and no's which is what they actually vote with.

 

[TheExodu5]

These are eggcorns.

For me: I thought "ulterior motives" was "alterior motives" for a while. As in, you actually had an alternative motive to what you were claimed your motive was.

While alterior isn't a word, they pretty much mean the same thing.

 

[jred2k]

I always thought the phrase "Useless as tits on a bull" was "Useless as tits on a bowl" it always made me laugh of think of someone at a table just sitting there with their tits resting on a bowl.

 

[thezerofire]

Is it "I fuck with" or "I futz with"?

It's actually fucks or fux, depending on how many characters you have left in the tweet

 

[Monkeylord]

 

[Yamauchi]

it was hard to know it

I studied hard for the exam

now I know it by hard

it actually still makes more sense than "know it by heart" to me

This made me burst out laughing. Not because it's silly, but because it makes complete sense.

I thought "wind chill temperature" was "windshield temperature."

I thought this too when I was a kid. I thought it was supposed to be the temperature if you had a thermometer on the front of the windshield.

When I was a kid I also thought it was a "doggy dog world." I have no explanation for this one.

 

[apocalidiot]

Is it "I fuck with" or "I futz with"?

Fucks, unless you're mixing dialogue for a movie

 

[Sobriquet]

These are eggcorns.

For me: I thought "ulterior motives" was "alterior motives" for a while. As in, you actually had an alternative motive to what you were claimed your motive was.

This site is great. They have one of GAF's favorites.

I thought "wind chill temperature" was "windshield temperature."

I used to think that when I was a kid.

 

[Trey]

My brother used to think "let bygones be bygones" was "let bi gons be bi gons". He thought "bi gons" were "gons" that were bi, and it was about tolerating/accepting their sexuality, so "letting bi gons be bi gons" meant you tolerated/accepted something. End result is the same, but how he got there was...different.

Son you don't even understand how much this is killing me. I'm just sitting here imagining

 

[Sobriquet]

Is it "I fuck with" or "I futz with"?

Both are correct, but they have different meanings. It depends on what you're trying to convey.

 

[nckillthegrimace]

Quite a lot of these - "nip it in the butt", "know it by hard", "deep seeded" - only make sense because you American weirdos pronounce T and D the same. Wouldn't happen in a civilised country.

Now get off my lawn.

Could you pronounce "tuna" for us?

 

[BowieZ]

I always thought it was "pales in comparison" but apparently it's "palls in comparison".

pall, v. become less interesting or attractive

 

[Number45]

I always thought it was "pales in comparison" but apparently it's "palls in comparison".

pall, v. become less interesting or attractive

This is news to me. They're pronounced differently, and I've only ever heard it spoken (and seen it written) as "pales".

 

[heyf00L]

I always thought it was "pales in comparison" but apparently it's "palls in comparison".

pall, v. become less interesting or attractive

You and just about everyone else. Who actually says "palls"?

Edit:
This idiom dictionary has an entry for pale but not pall.
http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/pale+in+comparison

"Palls in comparison" might be a ret con (or whatever the proper grammatical term is).

 

[televator]

I always thought it was "pales in comparison" but apparently it's "palls in comparison".

pall, v. become less interesting or attractive

Holly shit. I feel stupid again.

 

[speculawyer]

it was hard to know it

I studied hard for the exam

now I know it by hard

it actually still makes more sense than "know it by heart" to me

Yeah, I gotta say that your version makes much more sense.

 

[Sobriquet]

Holly shit. I feel stupid again.

Don't. "Pales" is correct.

 

[AColdDay]

My brother in law keeps saying "could care less."

It's not a big deal but I want to kick him every time he does it.

I like to say "I could care less.....but just barely."

 

[anarckitty]

When I was younger I used to say, "for all intensive purposes" instead of "for all intents and purposes".

 

[SeaOfMadness]

basically, if you get these wrong, you don't read enough. plain and simple. If everything you write/speak is based on things you've heard instead of things you've read, then you are bound to misinterpret something. IOW, read moar

 

[Skellig Gra]

myriad and a myriad always throws me off. I know its just "myriad"

 

[Myz]

"That's the last straw" or "draw", I still don't even know -_-

 

[Skellig Gra]

basically, if you get these wrong, you don't read enough. plain and simple. If everything you write/speak is based on things you've heard instead of things you've read, then you are bound to misinterpret something. IOW, read moar

Get off your high house.

 

[BowieZ]

Don't. "Pales" is correct.

Huh. So don't always listen to your mother.

She was emphatic that it was not "pales," or so her English teacher once told her.

 

[Birbo]

Just found out yesterday that the saying is "To each his own" and not "To each is own" like I've been saying my whole life. D'oh.

 

[Alcotholic]

"Want not, waste not"

 

[evilromero]

I thought "wind chill temperature" was "windshield temperature."

lol When I was a kid I used to think this too.

 

[Number45]

"That's the last straw" or "draw", I still don't even know -_-

Straw.

 

[Lucky Forward]

basically, if you get these wrong, you don't read enough. plain and simple. If everything you write/speak is based on things you've heard instead of things you've read, then you are bound to misinterpret something. IOW, read moar

My sediments exactly.

 

[StanleyStutters]

I used to think "play it by ear" was "play it by here"

 

[ianswoody]

I always thought it was caddy-corner until one of my friends emphasized his words and said catty-corner. I called him out, he balked, so I looked it up and was instantly put to shame. CATTY-corner? So weird.

 

[hipbabboom]

"Want not, waste not"

Don't want to sound like I'm splitting straws but isn't it "Waste not, want not"?

I used to think "play it by ear" was "play it by here"

Would you happen to have meant "hear" instead of "here"?

 

[Angry Grimace]

I always thought Bishoptl was just one weird unpronounceable word.

 

[BlueSteel]

I always thought Bishoptl was just one weird unpronounceable word.

Wait, how does one pronounce it then o.o

 

[winjet81]

I always thought it was caddy-corner until one of my friends emphasized his words and said catty-corner. I called him out, he balked, so I looked it up and was instantly put to shame. CATTY-corner? So weird.

I've never even heard of catty-corner before... always used kitty-corner.

 

[Angry Grimace]

Wait, how does one pronounce it then o.o

...it's Bishop T.L. T.L. are his initials.

 

[hipbabboom]

Now am just questioning everything I thought I ever knew

"Case in point" or "Case and point"?

 

[thelatestmodel]

Now am just questioning everything I ever thought I knew

"Case in point" or "Case and point"?

Case in point. You're bringing up something that is relevant to what you're discussing right now.

 

[Number45]

Don't want to sound like I'm splitting straws but isn't it "Waste not, want not"?

He's just stating the incorrect way of saying it.

I've never even heard of catty-corner before... always used kitty-corner.

I've never heard of either of these. Regional? I'm UK based.

"Case in point" or "Case and point"?

Case in point.

 

[StanleyStutters]

Don't want to sound like I'm splitting straws but isn't it "Waste not, want not"?



Would you happen to have meant "hear" instead of "here"?

No, I thought it was here. I used to think that people would "play it by here" as in they were finding something to do locally.

 

[googleplex]

As a kid I thought the laser sword used in Star wars was a Light saver.

 

[Thorakai]

This thread is giving me a good laugh, thanks everyone.

 

[thelatestmodel]

As a kid I thought the laser sword used in Star wars was a Light saver.

This is very, very common. They've just never encountered the word "saber" before, so they go for the closest sounding thing.

 

[Pinko Marx]

Is it "Nip it in the bud" or "Nip it in the butt"?

Is it "Make ends meat" or "Make ends meet"?

Is it "Find a happy median" or "Find a happy medium"?

A - An allegory about pruning roses
B
B

Wrong on the last one. Its median. Like a middle ground.

 

[shakin_haitian]

Quite a lot of these - "nip it in the butt", "know it by hard", "deep seeded" - only make sense because you American weirdos pronounce T and D the same. Wouldn't happen in a civilised country.

Now get off my lawn.

I'm from the American south, so I tend to slur words together and my overall speech is just, well just fucking awful, but I still manage to enunciate Ts and Bs, properly. Those people have actual speech impediments, like the people who can't differentiate between Rs and Ws.

 

[BowieZ]

...it's Bishop T.L. T.L. are his initials.

Huh. Was always saying it "bish-opt-al".

 

[thelatestmodel]

Wrong on the last one. Its median. Like a middle ground.

No, it's not. It's "happy medium". Sorry bud.

 

[Pinko Marx]

No, it's not. It's "happy medium". Sorry bud.

You're right just looked it up. Median makes so much more sense tho.

 

[toxicgonzo]

"What comes around is all around"
"Supply and command"
"A history of denial and error"
"Make my words"
"Her mating name"
"Indianopolis Jones"
"It doesn't take rocket appliances"
"Get 2 birds stoned at once"
"Swallow my prize"
"I Todaso!"
"Worst case Ontario"
"I don't have assurance on my car"
"I'm not a pessimist, I'm an optometrist"
"How's the little bottle of joy doing?"
"It's against my vice principals"
"Survival of the fitness"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfq3c4Cf1Fs

 

[Pinko Marx]

One that's always bothered me is people mispronounced "Voilà" as "Walla".