It’s funny how sometimes we can go so many years thinking something is a certain way when it’s actually not. This is perfectly explained by an episode of How I Met Your Mother where they discuss “gaps in knowledge.” Ted Mosby spends years of his life thinking the word chameleon had a completely different pronunciation. And only when he was 30 did he find out he was completely wrong. We all have gaps in knowledge especially when it comes to sayings. There are so many sayings that people can go years mispronouncing and misusing. And some of them are actually kind of funny so here they are!
1. “Nip it in the Bud” vs. “Nip it in the Butt”: Yes, until last year I thought the saying was “nip it in the butt” not “bud.” After my best friends made fun of me for about an hour I kind of shook it off as my own gap in knowledge. But when I was telling my friend about it, I realized that she also thought the saying was “nip it in the butt.” Where does the saying actually come from and why does the correct usage make sense? According to Urban Dictionary, the saying refers to nipping a flower in the bud so it can’t grow anymore. Therefore, it means to cut a problem at its source before it grows into an even bigger one.
2. “The Point is Moot” vs. “The Point is Mute”: I cannot even tell you how long I thought it was the latter and not the former. Thankfully a lot of people are on the same boat as I was. But in an effort to relieve others of this embarrassment I’m going to clear the air of confusion on this one. The correct saying is “the point is moot.” But…why? Who even knows what moot means? Okay so according to Merriam Webster moot means “no longer important or worth discussing.”
3. “Regardless” vs. “Irregardless”: Okay, now “irregardless” is not even a word! Seriously, try typing it without having red squiggles appear underneath it. I DARE YOU!
4. “I Couldn’t Care Less” vs. I “Could Care Less”: Urban Dictionary cleared this one up, yet again. The correct saying is “I couldn’t care less” because it’s “impossible to not care any more” (Urban Dictionary). On the other hand, when you say, “I could care less” you imply that you actually do care.
5. “You Have Another Think Coming” vs. “You Have Another Thing Coming”: I have to come clean here, I really did not know this was a thing until a few moments ago. This is a phrase that seems to be so commonly misused that the incorrect phrase has taken over the correct one. According to Wiktionary, this saying actually means “to be mistaken; to need to rethink something one has determined; to need to reconsider one’s plans or expectations.” This makes SOOOOO much more sense then the latter saying. For example, let’s say my hypothetical arch nemesis was planning on coming to my birthday party. I would tell my alleged arch nemesis that s/he had another think coming. In other words, he/she would have to rethink his/her plans of attending my party because no arch nemesis of mine is showing up at my birthday party.
We all have these gaps in knowledge that we could go years with out uncovering. Hopefully I solved most of your grammatical gaps in knowledge with this article.
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