Phrases or sayings that people get wrong

[Blackpool Rock]

People who write "been" when they mean "being".

People who say "gotten" unless they are American when it's OK.

British according to Collins as in ill gotten gains 
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[Stevelondon]

People always using "like", like literally all the fucking time.

Sorry, I couldn't resist 

“Basically” is another one.

[Stevelondon]

But on a serious note if anyone really does know why any of this happens. Pop your answer on a coastguard please.

[FLYING BLUE]

People who begin a sentence with a completely un-needed - "So"

Someone else mentioned the word "literally" being used out of context - We used to have a well educated & prolific N/E contributor on here who used to say that word a lot, but in the following context - "She was so beautiful, my jaw literally hit the floor"  - Hmmm 

[Thephoenix]

Not quite the same subject, but we have a real old Hylda Baker type character in our family.
She's 98 and sometimes has us in stitches.
I've not heard her use any of Hylda's sayings yet,  like "Oooo!.... I was overcome with emulsion!", but she was telling us that  the residents had recently been watching a film about Genghis Khan and his porcupines.
She also told us a while back that there'd been some staff problems and the chef was the escaped goat.
She was also telling some of her friends about the time she lived in Australia and worked with some black native Australians called the Originees.

[catweazle]

I'll take your word for it and not ask you for the reference, but it wasn't in common use until recently. Now I've even heard it from BBC presenters.

Gotten has been in use since the 4th century in Britain and was used by Shakespeare. In Richard III he writes:

With much ado at length have gotten leave,
To look upon my sometimes royal master’s face.

[Adoniron]

Gotten has been in use since the 4th century in Britain and was used by Shakespeare. In Richard III he writes:

With much ado at length have gotten leave,
To look upon my sometimes royal master’s face.

Well I've been on this earth for 59 years and only recall hearing it in the last few years. What's wrong with "got"?

[scutty brown]

Gotten has been in use since the 4th century in Britain .............

Unlikely
The word is of Norse origin, not Latin or Celtic, derived from Old Norse "geta" which transmuted into Old English "gietan" so really wouldn't have been introduced in those forms to the UK before the 8th century BC. Certainly it was used by Shakespeare but must have existed prior to that - presumably appearing in medieval times as English evolved into more modern forms. So maybe 12-13th century maybe?

[I like natural boobs]

If I'm feeling pedantic I can often see incorrect sayings in escort reviews. People use "she sucked me off" incorrectly quite often. People use that saying to describe just any blow job. The "off" part of the saying really means "to completion" though. When an orgasm into the mouth didn't happen a better saying would be "she sucked my cock" rather than "she sucked me off".

[I like natural boobs]

I have a friend who says "yes?" at the end of nearly every sentence and it's annoying. I feel like saying "do I have to confirm that I know what you mean all the darn time?"

[StingRay]

I have a friend who says "yes?" at the end of nearly every sentence and it's annoying. I feel like saying "do I have to confirm that I know what you mean all the darn time?"

Hmm 

[scutty brown]

"darn" isn't a misuse: it's perfectly acceptable deliberate American dialect substitution for "damn", used in bible-bashing communities to avoid swearing and cursing

[Stevelondon]

Another one I hate and it’s only something I’ve noticed over the last year or so with a guy I occasionally bump into, in the pub.

He has a habit of explaining things and saying ‘Why’ in the sentence. As if he is asking himself a question.

An example would be him chatting on a particular subject,
“So the laws of physics dictate (etc etc) ……. Then he pops in a ‘Why’’…….. and goes on to explain himself.

I feel like jumping in with a “I’ll fuckin tell you why shall I”  😂

[chrishornx]

Unlikely
The word is of Norse origin, not Latin or Celtic, derived from Old Norse "geta" which transmuted into Old English "gietan" so really wouldn't have been introduced in those forms to the UK before the 8th century BC. Certainly it was used by Shakespeare but must have existed prior to that - presumably appearing in medieval times as English evolved into more modern forms. So maybe 12-13th century maybe?

8th century BC was 2800 years ago so Catweazle's 4th century may well be right surely?

[scutty brown]

8th century BC was 2800 years ago so Catweazle's 4th century may well be right surely?

oooops!!!!
8th century AD.......

[advent2016]

Can I get, no ffs it’s please can I have.

Yes you can, but you MAY not. You should ask "Please may I have..."

ref:
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[DastardlyDick]

People who begin a sentence with a completely un-needed - "So"

Not just me then! 

[Thephoenix]

As well as the controversy about the use of gotten, I'm not fond of the use of 'off of' in a sentence, which is commonly used by Americans.
However I was surprised to learn that it's use is regarded as grammatically correct by some and it's not just a recent addition to the language.

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[Thephoenix]

I have a friend who says "yes?" at the end of nearly every sentence and it's annoying. I feel like saying "do I have to confirm that I know what you mean all the darn time?"

Another one which takes some time to get used to is The Aussie's use of the word 'but' at the end of a sentence.

"I don't really fancy Sheila, I wouldn't mind shagging her but."

[scutty brown]

Another one which takes some time to get used to is The Aussie's use of the word 'but' at the end of a sentence.

"I don't really fancy Sheila, I wouldn't mind shagging her but."

Surely you've misunderstood what's being said there:   ""I don't really fancy Sheila, I wouldn't mind shagging her butt".......


Butt as in ass / backide / bum.......

[elnukky]

A recent one that I have noticed, mostly online is when an individual is speaking about a non recurring event in their past and using 'whenever' rather than 'when';

Whenever I was a kid I would...

[Thephoenix]

Surely you've misunderstood what's being said there:   ""I don't really fancy Sheila, I wouldn't mind shagging her butt".......

Butt as in ass / backide / bum.......

Fancy me not thinking of that.
Maybe you're right, I don't think so but. 

[akauya]

What also gets my goat, so to speak, is when people say "women" when they mean "woman". I see this quite a lot on social media.

Something like "She's a lovely women" or "I'm a happy-go-lucky women" I mean WTF! Don't they know the difference between plural and singular? 

As if on cue a review pops up and the punter writes: "The girl:  She is a gorgeous women."  FFS   

[bhudda]

One that seems to be creeping in is worse instead of worst.

People always using “literally” like literally all the fucking time.

I agree on the use of of instead of have, that really boils my piss.

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[bhudda]

I can't stand it when people use the word "impact" as a verb ... a little research suggests that this is widely considered to be OK ... well all I can say to that is IT FUCKING SHOULDN'T BE!   

[advent2016]

As if on cue a review pops up and the punter writes: "The girl:  She is a gorgeous women."  FFS   

when I quote, sometimes I put (sic) to show that I know the correct spelling or grammar
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Usually I don't bother, as some people take offence.

[I like natural boobs]

I hate it when people say "I swear down" instead of just "I swear". It seems to be mostly young people who are saying it. In my opinion it sounds stupid.

[george r]

wrong thread

[mr.bluesky]

I hate it when people say "I swear down" instead of just "I swear". It seems to be mostly young people who are saying it. In my opinion it sounds stupid.

Never heard of that expression 

[jackdaw]

“Charity begins at home”…nearly everyone (including me) uses it very differently to its original meaning.

I think it started out as meaning the desire to be charitable, to be generous, was fostered by a loving upbringing at home….if our parents are generous, then we go out into the world more inclined to be kind to others

[Punterperson1971]

I hate it when people say "I swear down" instead of just "I swear". It seems to be mostly young people who are saying it. In my opinion it sounds stupid.

Agreed and also when they say “fam” or “you get me”when they are explaining something or “that’s sick”or “how sick is this”

[scutty brown]

Never heard of that expression 

Nor I.
But then there's no-one in my circle who would use "I swear" as a phrase anyway, unless they were up in front of the magistrates........

[scutty brown]

“Charity begins at home”…nearly everyone (including me) uses it very differently to its original meaning.

I think it started out as meaning the desire to be charitable, to be generous, was fostered by a loving upbringing at home….if our parents are generous, then we go out into the world more inclined to be kind to others

I think you've got that wrong.
It appears to have always meant look after your relatives and neighbours first

[pbrown355]

Appears to begin from a biblical text. Lets face it, if you want to make an argument for or against a point you can find a biblical quote to make your point.

[daviemac]

Not a saying that people mishear but one that is just wrong, - "practice makes perfect", no, practice makes permanent, it only makes perfect if you are practicing doing it the correct way in the first place.

[Adoniron]

“Charity begins at home”…nearly everyone (including me) uses it very differently to its original meaning.

I think it started out as meaning the desire to be charitable, to be generous, was fostered by a loving upbringing at home….if our parents are generous, then we go out into the world more inclined to be kind to others

People only ever quote the first part of the saying.

The full saying is "Charity begins at home, but it should not end there."

[VladtheImpaleHer]

This one really annoys me....

"Can you borrow me a pen?"

"Can you borrow me a fiver"?

I can lend you a pen. I can lend you a fiver!

[timsussex]

This one really annoys me....

"Can you borrow me a pen?"

"Can you borrow me a fiver"?

I can lend you a pen. I can lend you a fiver!

Worked with a guy - a computer programmer! -who did that - always pissed me off 

[VladtheImpaleHer]

Worked with a guy - a computer programmer! -who did that - always pissed me off

STOP GETTING ENGLISH WRONG!!!

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[StingRay]

Worked with a guy - a computer programmer! -who did that - always pissed me off

Believe you me, I know what you mean! 

[MrBamboo]

"You have two choices"...ffs no you have a choice of two options...

[jackdaw]

"You have two choices"...ffs no you have a choice of two options...

What rule of grammar does “you have two choices” break?

[daviemac]

What rule of grammar does “you have two choices” break?

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[jackdaw]

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“You have 2 choices” is shorter than “You have the option of 2 choices” and is completely unambiguous. And is, I think, by far the more common usage.

In spite of the bald statement “it is grammatically incorrect” I can’t see any formal grammatical rule that supports that contention.

[timsussex]

You have one choice  - heads or tails ?
 you can choose either but only once

but if I have two choices I'll pick heads for the first and tails for the second

[jackdaw]

You have one choice  - heads or tails ?
 you can choose either but only once

but if I have two choices I'll pick heads for the first and tails for the second

You have one option…heads or tails

But if I have two options I’ll pick heads for the first and tails for the second.

Really, really not convinced that “you have 2 choices” breaks any grammatical rule.

A couple of my mates are real grammatical pedants, next time I see them I’ll ask. (Will probably regret, will no doubt get 30 minute lecture and discover I’m wrong.)

[timsussex]

You have one option…heads or tails

But if I have two options I’ll pick heads for the first and tails for the second.

Really, really not convinced that “you have 2 choices” breaks any grammatical rule.

A couple of my mates are real grammatical pedants, next time I see them I’ll ask. (Will probably regret, will no doubt get 30 minute lecture and discover I’m wrong.)

No you have 2 options you can choose either
Expand it to predicting a dice throw (actually its a die there is only one) you now have 6 options but still only one choice

[jackdaw]

No you have 2 options you can choose either
Expand it to predicting a dice throw (actually its a die there is only one) you now have 6 options but still only one choice

I think you are suggesting its to do with the specific meaning of "choice" rather than an error in grammar? That choice just means making a decision among alternatives?

But I think actual usage has long ago established that choice can be used to mean a specific pick or exercising a particular option.

[catweazle]

Yes you can, but you MAY not. You should ask "Please may I have..."

ref:
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This took me all the way back to grammar school. There was a constant shortage of chairs... except for one classroom which always had it's full complement of seats, guarded by the resident form master.

Knock on door: "Please, sir, can I borrow a chair?"

"Yes"

A moment later: "where do you think you're going with that chair?"

"You said I could borrow a chair sir"

"Yes I did"

A second later:

"Stop! Put that chair back. I said you could borrow a chair. I did not say you may borrow it".

Light eventually dawns " Please, sir MAY I borrow a chair?"

"No. Now get out of my classroom and stop wasting my time"

[WASA38]

My favourite quote from Tom Sharpe.s 'The Misadventures of Mr Wilt'[:

Inspector Flint: You're inferring we're all thick?
Henry Wilt: No, I'm IMPLYING you're all thick, you're inferring that that is what I'm IMPLYING.

Would have thought that there would have been a youtube clip of this with Mel Smith and Cliff Rhys Jones but couldn't find it.