The Ever Fascinating English Language : Misused Idioms

From a previous article of mine : The Ever Fascinating English Language, I have relayed to you my deep enchantment for the English Language. There are many intricacies and alluring details that really gets it going for me. From grammar, spelling challenges and invigorating word plays, I love that there are so many twists and turns within the realm of the English Language.

For this particular installment, I would like to tackle one aspect of this language that I found really interesting and pretty mind-boggling ever since I have learned about it from grade school. As an aspiring writer, I strive to paint a picture, a scene, a situation using words. I use the words and their meaning to give color to a message and try to make it a little bit interesting so that others who may read my work can somehow appreciate it. I always try to choose words with the exact meaning that fits perfectly to what I am trying to describe, words are magic but they become more magical when they are accompanied by other words that completes a thought or an idea perfectly. But words, when paired with other words could also mean other things that just what they plainly mean. It’s like having a message hidden in plain sight, or a code waiting to be decoded by the reader. Hence, my bewitchment with Idioms.

An idiom is defined by Oxford dictionary as a group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words. Basically, an idiom is a phrase or a sentence with another meaning that is different from the literal meaning each individual words carry. A common example of an idiom is “raining cats and dogs”, this phrase means that it is raining very hard outside, it does not mean that dogs and cats are falling from the sky, oh good heavens please no!

Idioms can make a speech or an article a bit more flowery and colorful. Oddly enough, when someone uses an idiom, I can understand his or her message a tad more clearer. I also think that using idioms make someone looked like a well-read person. Yes, I personally find a person smarter if he or she uses idioms properly, and I said properly because since these magical phrases are not straightforward, they are easy to misused and/or misspelled. I read and heard a few of these idioms that are misused over the times. I searched around the internet to look for commonly misused idioms and without further ado, let’s look into the entertaining list.

Beckon Call

There are times that I saw this one used as “beckon call” or “beg and call”. The correct form is beck and call. If someone is said to be in another person’s beck and call it indicates that that someone is willing and will attend to that person’s call or request. It’s like when your beloved girlfriend dumps you but you still love her and hope that you will somehow end up together, you answer every text or call right away, you go whenever she needs you to go, or you still buy her what she wants, then you’re still at her beck and call. Come on dude, move on!

Blessing in the Skies

Well, this one makes some sense, where do blessings come from anyway right? But unfortunately, this one’s correct form is blessing in disguise. This is used when something that is seemingly bad turns out to be a good thing after all. Oh, somehow just like an idiom, it has another meaning. For example, when your cold hearted girlfriend ditched you on your date and you just went home then the restaurant you were supposed to dine in was engulfed by huge flames and burned down, that’s a blessing in disguise, at the same time it can also be said that you “dodged a bullet”.

Doggy dog World

What’s wrong with that? It sounds good right? Although it’s fun to say it is wrong. It is supposed to be dog-eat-dog world. This just describes a the cruel way of the world, or some cutthroat behaviors displayed to get or achieve one wants. Imagine a world where a dog eats another dog, it’s not a world I would like to live in, I tell you that.

Nip it the Butt

This idiom means to prevent the problem from blooming or even growing any bigger, or resolve the issue before it even become a big concern. But no, no one is nipping anything on the butt, unless it’s hemorrhoids. The correct phrase is Nip in the Bud. Yeah, it’s quite the opposite, bums and flowers don’t smell alike, not even close. Although, bud and butt may sound the same for some people, hence the misusage.

You Have Another Thing Coming

Wait, that is not right? Surprise! It is not. As it turned out to be, the correct wordings for this idiom is “You have another think coming”. Wow I always thought that it was the right thing to say, but I guess I have to rethink my education and everything else, I need to rethink. Weirded about this one, I read some more and somehow ascertained that this idiom usually pertains to one’s initial thinking. “If that’s what you think, you have another think coming.” In that context it is clear that the idiom shows that the subject is wrong in what he or she is thinking and should rethink the whole matter. To be honest, I’m slightly confused, which brings me to the next item.

Slight of Hand

The correct phrase is Sleight of Hand, which refers to refined motor skills of a person, particularly on the hands. Also refers to the cunning use and manipulation using one’s hand. This idiom is associated primarily in magic tricks where sleigh of hand is an invaluable skill and does not really refer to small hands. A nice example of this one is, “your sleight of hand is amazing, you took my heart while pretending to shuffle the cards” I imagine that any magician would love to hear that compliment.

Peak my Interest

My interest is on the highest level because apparently the correct form of this idiom is Pique my Interest. It means “stimulate, enliven or engage my interest” not to take my interest to the highest level.

First come, First Serve

Firstly, you will not eagerly come early to serve other people, but if you use the idiom as first come, first serve, that is the implication it produce. The correct usage of this idiom is first come, first served. Practically means that if you come first, you will be served first. But I guess our hearing isn’t really that reliable.

Getting off Scotch Free

The correct form of this one is Getting off Scot Free. It means that getting out of something without any consequences, punishments, or repercussions. It does not mean getting out of a pub without drinking whiskey. I personally would not like to get off scotch free. For example, “Even though his company was closed down, the owner was not charged of any case and he got off scot free”.

Wreck Havoc

This idiom is supposed to mean to spread or cause chaos. So going by “wreck havoc” it is logically wrong because it literally will mean to destroy chaos, which is the direct opposite of the idiom’s intended meaning. The correct phrase is Wreak havoc. And with that, the meaning seems pretty clear. “Come live with me and be my love, wreak havoc into my life”. Very poetic. Dark, but poetic.

As you can see, using idioms is a lot of fun and is quite entertaining. Even if you use them incorrectly they will still be entertaining as you will be soliciting laughter with a bit of confusion. Indeed, making use of idioms will make anybody smarter but misuse them with a serious look on your face may cause you to look like an idiot.

Thanks for reading and learning with me. Hopefully we can avoid future embarrassment with regards to the idioms indicated above. If you can share more of these misused idioms or any embarrassing experience using these that you want to share, feel free to reach out via the comment box.

Cheers!

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