And, yeppers, we mean constantly. Here’s a quick guide to cleaning up our acts, from Sarah Showfety and Lifehacker.Com.
by Sarah Showfety
English is a tricky language. Our “ph” sounds like “f” and our idioms often make zero sense. (The cat’s out of the bag? Who was keeping a cat in the bag?)
Similarly, there are many common English expressions that people use all time time—and incorrectly. Whether you fancy yourself a bit of a wordsmith or you’re not sure what “shoo-in” even means, chances are you’ve said some of these common phrases wrong and never knew it.
According to Merriam-Webster, these mistaken formations of phrases that sound correct but aren’t are called… eggcorns! (Even more awesomely, “eggcorn” only entered our lexicon at all after enough people misheard and mispronounced “acorn.”)
Here’s a look at the most common phrases you may be botching—and what to say instead….
Read it all and watch the informative – really – at lifehacker.com