Drew Smith Photography wrote:
Okay, here's a couple of interesting ones, be honest and put your hand up if you misuse these, I will admit to doing so:

Enormity - meaning 'enormous' right? Nope; it means 'extreme evil'.

and

Chronic - meaning 'very bad' right? Nope; it means 'long term'.

According to dictionary.com, one of the meanings of "enormity" is "greatness of size, scope, extent, or influence; immensity."  But thanks for informing us that another meaning is extreme evil.  I hadn't known that.

The Space Cowboy wrote:
"Wherefore art thou Romeo?" means "Why are you Romeo?"

Not "Where are you?"

JOEL McDONALD wrote:
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/262200.html

You found a supporting link! Fantastic! Thank you!

EvaScarlet wrote:
Hey, fuck if I know...

(which, coincidentally, doesn't make much sense either...but it's gratifying to say, damn it!!!)

K I C K H A M wrote:
I think that expression has a logic base.

It means that it you know, you get rewarded by sex.

And if you don't know, then no sex for you.

Damned if I know.

Imagesby Photography wrote:
When people mix up infured inferred and implied!

Fixed that for you.

Ink pen.
Is there an ink pencil?

No, but there are different kinds of pens.

Ink pen.
Is there an ink pencil?

Orca Bay Images wrote:
No, but there are different kinds of pens.

The company which makes "Sharpie" markers sells a liquid graphite pencil, so it qualifies as an ink pencil (since it writes like a pen and erases like a conventional pencil).


I hate it when people use forms of "go" when retelling conversions (in place of "said").

GeM Photographic wrote:

Ink pen.
Is there an ink pencil?

The company which makes "Sharpie" markers sells a liquid graphite pencil, so it qualifies as an ink pencil (since it writes like a pen and erases like a conventional pencil).


I hate it when people use forms of "go" when retelling conversions (in place of "said").

Even worse, IMO, is "like":

"So, I'm like 'What happened?'  So, she's like, 'I don't know.'  So, I'm like, 'Weren't you there?'  So, she's like, "Yeah, but I was passed out.'"

It's not just slang for "said."  The "I'm like" construction leaves it vague as to whether the person said the words or merely thought them, e.g., "So, I'm like WTF?"

GeM Photographic wrote:
I hate it when people use forms of "go" when retelling conversions (in place of "said").

That makes me cringe. Same for "was like," as Vivus mentioned.

K I C K H A M wrote:

I think that expression has a logic base.

It means that it you know, you get rewarded by sex.

And if you don't know, then no sex for you.

Sam Comer Photography wrote:
"If I go to my sister's wedding, I'll have to see my ex whom I hate. If I don't go, I will upset my sister" is a dilemma.

Vivus Hussein Denuo wrote:
Even worse, IMO, is "like":

"So, I'm like 'What happened?'  So, she's like, 'I don't know.'  So, I'm like, 'Weren't you there?'  So, she's like, "Yeah, but I was passed out.'"

It's not just slang for "said."  The "I'm like" construction leaves it vague as to whether the person said the words or merely thought them, e.g., "So, I'm like WTF?"

QFT

Vivus Hussein Denuo wrote:
Affect and effect.

Though I know the diff, I still occasionally get hung up for a split second on which to use.

It's like "I before E except after C," which constantly confuses me for a few hundred milliseconds.

Orca Bay Images wrote:
Worse and worst.

X is the worse of the two choices.

X is the worst of the three (or more) choices.

Ugh. I saw this today.

I really hate it.

Orca Bay Images wrote:

Though I know the diff, I still occasionally get hung up for a split second on which to use.

It's like "I before E except after C," which constantly confuses me for a few hundred milliseconds.

I'm impressed that you can determine the duration of your confusion down to hundredths of a second.

Here's one: 'I can't start doing that because it'll set a president.'

Damianne wrote:
Anyways
I wish I was
If I was
Offsides

'offsides'? What's that then?

I shall presume it isn't a reference to one of the most complicated rules in the Beautiful Game.

Drew Smith Photography wrote:

'offsides'? What's that then?

I shall presume it isn't a reference to one of the most complicated rules in the Beautiful Game.

Offsides isn't anything because one is either onside or offside.
Hardly complicated. HARDLY.

Sam Comer Photography wrote:
Also, I know people who reverse "bring" and "take."

"Can you take me that beer, please?" or "This shirt doesn't fit. I'm going to bring it back to the store."

For sure.

I remember when I moved to Minnesota as a kid and at school kids would ask:

"Would you borrow me a dollar?"

(WTF?)

My response was usually, "I do not think that is possible."
(Smiles...and walk away...)

Wildcat

Orca Bay Images wrote:

Though I know the diff, I still occasionally get hung up for a split second on which to use.

It's like "I before E except after C," which constantly confuses me for a few hundred milliseconds.

My Mom often said, "Either leisured foreigner seized the heifer on the weird height" so I could remember some of the exceptions to that rule.

C h a r l e s  D wrote:
Buffalo for Bison is infuriating, but it seems, only to me.  No native buffalo exist in these United States.

Yeah, I don't think you'll get others to share in that level of indignation. From Wikipedia:

"The term "buffalo" is sometimes considered to be a misnomer for this animal, as it is only distantly related to either of the two "true buffalo", the Asian water buffalo and the African buffalo. However, "bison" is a Greek word meaning ox-like animal, while "buffalo" originated with the French fur trappers who called these massive beasts bœufs, meaning ox or bullock—so both names, "bison" and "buffalo", have a similar meaning. Though the name "Bison" might be considered to be more scientifically correct, as a result of standard usage the name "Buffalo" is also considered correct and is listed in many dictionaries as an acceptable name for American Buffalo or bison. In reference to this animal, the term "buffalo" dates to 1635 in North American usage when the term was first recorded for the American mammal. It thus has a much longer history than the term "bison", which was first recorded in 1774."

I'm sorry you don't like it, but it's an acceptable usage. The maned wolf is not a wolf. The red panda is not a bear. So it goes sometimes.

C h a r l e s  D wrote:
My Mom often said, "Either leisured foreigner seized the heifer on the weird height" so I could remember some of the exceptions to that rule.

At the Comet Tavern in Seattle, the back rooms were done up in bare drywall and felt-tip markers were available for patrons to write or draw on the walls.

I once saw on a wall, "I before E except after C." Below it, someone else wrote, "Weird."

Orca Bay Images wrote:
It's like "I before E except after C," which constantly confuses me for a few hundred milliseconds.

Drew Smith Photography wrote:
I'm impressed that you can determine the duration of your confusion down to hundredths of a second.

Five hundred milliseconds isn't too tough to gauge. Ten hundreds of milliseconds, even easier.

Orca Bay Images wrote:
Worse and worst.

X is the worse of the two choices.

X is the worst of the three (or more) choices.

K I C K H A M wrote:
Ugh. I saw this today.

I really hate it.

Last week I heard a local TV newscaster -- might have been a sports commentator -- misuse "worse/worst." Teeth-grinding time.

DevilMayCare Photo wrote:
Photo specific: Referring to a zoom lens as X-by-Y instead of X-to-Y makes my teeth freakin' hurt.

+1

Likewise, "I have three or four lens."

LENSES!

Wildcat Photography wrote:

For sure.

I remember when I moved to Minnesota as a kid and at school kids would ask:

"Would you borrow me a dollar?"

(WTF?)

My response was usually, "I do not think that is possible."
(Smiles...and walk away...)

Wildcat

If the Minnesotans in question were of German heritage, which is entirely possible in the upper midwest, that might explain it.  The German cognate of English "borrow" is "borgen."  However, "borgen" can mean both to lend and to borrow.  And, in fact, I once met a woman from Germany who made exactly that mistake.  She asked if I could borrow her my eyeglasses.

So, that's pretty confusing, so the mistake is forgiveable.