When a question is asked, it seems lately more and more people are starting their answer with “I mean…”. How does that make sense? That should be used to clarify something that has already been said. There is no reason to start with “I mean” if you haven’t said anything earlier. What is the sense in that? So what do you mean? Are you stalling for time? Is it a placeholder? It just doesn’t make sense.
End rant.
Category Archives: Idioms
Some pet peeves
Some pet peeves are changing phrases from the original. Here are some examples:
The proof is in the pudding. What does this mean? Nothing. The phrase is supposed to be “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” So what does that mean? The “test” of whether the pudding is correct is when you actually eat it – you will know if it is correct.
Music calms the savage beast. Well, that may be true but the original phrase is “Music has charms to soothe the savage breast.” This is from a poem by William Congreve called The Mourning Bride.
Money is the root of all evil. This is actually a misquote from the Bible. The correct phrase is “The love of money is the root of all evil.” I Timothy 6:10
Pride goes before the fall. This is another misquote from the Bible. The correct verse states “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18
I will add more as I come across them.