Dave Letterman once asked Ari Fleischer why he never took Mr. Bush aside and said this.
Right, like someone would say that to the President.
The fact is, we all have things that we say that are a little off kilter. I’m not talking about incorrect grammar here: I’m talking about common expressions that are pretty commonly goofed up. I thought it might be fun (I know, only former English majors think such things are fun) to start a, “You know, it’s not . . .” list. I’ll throw some out to start us off. Feel free to jump in.
Ground rule: please, no one get your feelings hurt if you find one on the list that you’ve said. Just add one that you’ve heard (or seen) others say (or write). 
–It’s not “I’m at your beckon call.” It’s “I’m at your beck and call.”
–It’s not “when worse comes to worse.” It’s “when worse comes to worst.”
–It’s not “you’ve got another thing coming.” It’s “you’ve got another think coming.” (It’s deliberately ungrammatical for humorous effect: “If you think x, then you’ve got another think coming.”)
–It’s not “wet your appetite.” It’s “whet your appetite.”
–It’s not the “throws of passion.” It’s the “throes of passion.”
–It’s not “and et cetera.” It’s “et cetera.” (The et part already means “and.”)
–(I guess we should also mention that it’s not “eck cetera” either.)
–It’s not “without further adieu.” It’s “without further ado.” (As in “Much Ado About Nothing.”)
–It’s not “you reap what you sew.” It’s “you reap what you sow.”
–It’s not “I was taken back” (as in startled). It’s “I was taken aback.”
–It’s not “viola” (unless you’re talking about the musical instrument). And it’s not “walla” or “wallah” either. It’s “voilà!” (French for “Look here!”)
–It’s not a “spicket” (as in a faucet). It’s a “spigot.”
That’s all I can come up with right now. What did you think of?
35 responses so far ↓
1 Brad Bourgeois // Jul 20, 2006 at 7:38
Oh goodness! This is gonna take a while!
Two that get under my nerves are:
– It’s not “incidences,” it’s either “instances” or “incidents.”
– It’s not “a whole ‘nother” (well, I guess if you’re writing colloquially it is), it’s “another” or “a whole other”
2 John and Amy Lindsay // Jul 20, 2006 at 7:39
Received in an email – “freefrall” instead of “free – for – all” (”today’s discussion will be a freefrall”).
My wife nominates “it’s not ‘for all intensive purposes.’ It’s ‘for all intents and purposes.’”
3 PaulB // Jul 20, 2006 at 7:48
it’s not “for all intensive purposes” but “for all intents and purposes”
4 PaulB // Jul 20, 2006 at 7:49
OOPS! Sorry, John & Amy- saw your post right after I submitted mine. Mine should now just read “ditto above”.
5 Vrouw_Jonker // Jul 20, 2006 at 9:28
But we like pronouncing “voilà!” as “voy-luh!” ; similarly, “suave and debonair” becomes “swayve and de-boner”.
I’ll have to think on the assignment. I know there are dozens on my list. Y’all’ve just covered several of them already.
6 Vrouw_Jonker // Jul 20, 2006 at 9:29
Oh: It’s not “jew-ler-y”.
7 the SmockLady // Jul 20, 2006 at 10:10
It’s not ath-a-lete, it’s ath-lete.
It’s not tow the line, it’s toe the line.
And of course we all know how much I hate it when the words then and than are used incorrectly.
8 RevJATB // Jul 20, 2006 at 10:14
“Toe the line” reminded me of this one:
It’s not a “right of passage.” It’s a “rite of passage.”
(In case you’re wondering how “toe the line” reminded me of this one, both cases involve homophones–words that sound alike but that have different spellings and different meanings.)
9 RevJATB // Jul 20, 2006 at 10:18
In a similar vein as “incidences”, Brad:
I’ve heard people say “flustrated” (flustered+frustrated) Some, no doubt, use the term intentionally, for humorous effect.
10 Vrouw_Jonker // Jul 20, 2006 at 11:25
“homophones”? I thought this was a Christian blog.
11 Vrouw_Jonker // Jul 20, 2006 at 11:26
And we prefer “discombooberated” to “flustrated”
12 Sara // Jul 20, 2006 at 12:20
it’s “touch base with”, not “touch space with”.
also, your dresser has “drawers” and not “draws”. i have actually seen signs for “draw liners” at Bed, Bath, and Beyond here.
also, now that i am in the (virtual) presence of non-new yorkers:
you wait “in” a line, not “on” line. the only way you can be ON line is either to be connected to the internet, or to be standing on the shoulders of someone who is IN line.
13 Mark // Jul 20, 2006 at 13:55
Homophones can be Christian too.
Ex. The Son and the Sun
They just want to be loved is that so wrong?
14 RevJATB // Jul 20, 2006 at 14:35
Yes, Sara, “waiting on line” seems to be a uniquely New York thing. Before Seinfeld, I would imagine few Americans (except New Yorkers) had ever heard the expression.
I wonder where that expression comes from. Did establishments there at one time actually draw chalk lines on the sidewalk on which patrons were to queue up? Inquiring minds want to know . . .
Mark, you’re right. Where would the Christian T-shirt industry be without Christian homophones?
15 Brad Bourgeois // Jul 20, 2006 at 14:51
Mark, you’re right. Where would the Christian T-shirt industry be without Christian homophones?
HAHAHAAAA!!!!
Many misuse the term “in lieu of” quite frequently. I’ve heard “in lieu of this situation” or “in lieu of these circumstances”…it’s “in LIGHT of!”
“in lieu of” = “instead of”
just learn that “lieu” is French for “place”
16 Barbara // Jul 20, 2006 at 15:12
It’s not “expresso,” but it’s “espresso.” Nor are you able to “excape” from a bad coffee shop, but you can “escape.”
17 RevJATB // Jul 20, 2006 at 17:31
Barbara, have you seen/heard the local car commercial (NOT from Hopkins!) advertising the “Ford Excape”? I hope the dealership did not pay for that voice-over, but if they did I hope they got their money back.
“Eckspecially” is in the same category. It would be an interesting
HaroldHenry (oops!) Higgins kind of study to see if people who say “eckspecially” also always say “expresso” and “excape.”18 Mark // Jul 20, 2006 at 20:19
“Start yo credick! Build yo credick! Eckstablish yo credick at Mr. King Furniture. Downtown.”
19 Rosie // Jul 20, 2006 at 20:20
It’s not flare, its flair. As in, “Fashion with coastal flare”, a sign outside Absolutely Abigail’s that makes me want to scream every time I drive by it.
20 Barbara // Jul 20, 2006 at 20:33
RevJATB, we have not heard about the Ford Excape, but it seems to support the usual high quality of local commercials! What is with those jingles???
21 RevJATB // Jul 20, 2006 at 23:30
Rosie,
I’m guessing if their fashions have a coastal “flare”, then they must sell “flaired” jeans there.
22 RevJATB // Jul 20, 2006 at 23:31
Mark,
I miss those Mr. King commercials so much. Ditto Happy Rents.
23 Mark // Jul 21, 2006 at 8:49
You would think that someone would have posted those commercials. I am sure someone has them on an old videotape or something. Did you purchase R’s wedding rang from Mr. King? I wonder if that place is still open.
24 RevJATB // Jul 21, 2006 at 9:26
Didn’t purchase the ring at Mr. King, but at Happy Rents you could RENT a diamond ring, along with your stereo, TV, and VC arrah.
25 Mark // Jul 21, 2006 at 9:46
You mean, a VCarrah so I cold play my vidjo tapes?
26 RevJATB // Jul 21, 2006 at 10:21
Just heard another one via telephone:
The Louisiana FOP called soliciting a donation. The guy on the phone told me, “We want to remind you, always fasten your seat belt every time you step foot in a car.”
It’s not “step foot.” It’s “set foot.” I don’t step my foot on something: I set my foot on it.
Besides, you don’t “set foot” in a car! You “set foot” on a piece of land. “Set heinie” would be more appropriate for a car.
27 Sara // Jul 21, 2006 at 13:31
oooh, i forgot all about this.
my Louisiana history teacher in 8th grade used to always say “modren” instead of “modern”.
which i found out later in linguistics class is a common dialectical variance via language change. for instance, in “parisian” french, the word for “ant” is “fourmi”. in cajun french, it’s “froumi”. certain sounds are more likely to change over time in certain ways. Grimm’s theory of language change.
i’m wondering if “ex” for “es” in words like “escape” and “espresso” is a similar case.
28 Brad Bourgeois // Jul 21, 2006 at 15:11
AAAHHHHAHA!! DEE MARTIN! YOU QUOTED DEE MARTIN ON MY PASTOR’S BLOG, SARA! THAT IS CRACKING ME UP!!!!
I remember “SIT DOWOWN!” in Student Council meetings.
29 John // Jul 21, 2006 at 16:26
It’s perseverance, not perseRverance. There’s no “R” in the middle of the word.
30 the SmockLady // Jul 21, 2006 at 17:11
Oooo, John, that reminds me of these:
not perty, but pretty
not perscription, but prescription
not pertend, but pretend
31 Morris // Jul 22, 2006 at 9:45
How about Real-a-tor?
32 Morris // Jul 22, 2006 at 10:06
And I had a science teacher in 6th grade who couldn’t say “oxygen” without putting a [k] between the x and y. She was a great teacher, she just couldn’t pronounce the word … and she knew she couldn’t.
33 RevJATB // Jul 22, 2006 at 10:16
Wow, Mo, as my mother used to say when my grandmother would say “srimp” for “shrimp”, that’s harder to say than the original!
Dawn can tell you that we both had a psych professor at SU who said “cognivtive”, “negavtive,” and “posivtive.”
34 Sara // Jul 22, 2006 at 16:30
brad, i forgot you even knew about Mrs. Martin and her extra special version of the english language.
i seem to remember her also saying the word “artisan” (as in “ancient Coushatta artisans wove beautiful baskets with pine needles”) like “ar-TEE-sian”. i think because of the word “artisanal”, in which you really do put the emphasis on “TEE”, even though “artisan” is “ART-is-an”.
35 Kathy // Jun 9, 2009 at 21:21
My pet peeve is “taking something for granite.” It’s “granted.”
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