commonly misused/misheard idioms

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Even the most literate and well-read people bungle phrases from time to time. In fact, the author of this post, a professional editor and copywriter, learned something new from this list of misheard/misused idioms.

No one is exempt! šŸ¤Ŗ

So letā€™s have a good-natured laugh šŸ˜† at the phrases weā€™ve been using incorrectly and learn how to use popular idioms so we can be clearer when we communicate.

Down the pike or the pipe? The original phrase is coming down the pikeā€”ā€œpikeā€ being short for ā€œturnpikeā€ in this case. Over the years, people have misheard this phrase and conflated it with ā€œin the pipeline,ā€ which has a similar meaning. ā€œPikeā€ in this case is more correct. Besides, ā€œdown the pipeā€ gives off major bathroom vibes. šŸ’©

Speaking of bathroomsā€¦

Flesh or flush it out? If you want to build out or complete an idea or concept, youĀ flesh it outā€”like putting skin on a skeleton.šŸ’€ If your goal is to scare out something from a hiding place or use water to clean out something, then you’ll flush it out.Ā šŸš½

Couldnā€™t or could care less? This one is obvious when you consider the actual words. Telling someone you could care less implies that you do care about it. On the other hand, if youā€™re totally done with something, and you want to convey your indifference, šŸ™„ saying you couldnā€™t care less does the trick.

Pique or peak your interest? A peak is the top of a mountain ā›° or hill, while ā€œpiqueā€ means to stimulate or arouse interest or curiosity ā“ in something. It makes sense that these two homophones are often mixed up, but unless you want to say that something went mountain-climbing with your curiosity, use ā€œpique.ā€

Beckon or beck-and-call? When youā€™re expected to do someoneā€™s bidding immediately, youā€™re at their beck and call. ā€œBeckon callā€ is simply a misheard version, a phonetic elision that drops the ā€œdā€ off the ā€œand.ā€ That said, if singer šŸŽ¤ Beck calls, šŸ“ž you might want to answer.

image with a no symbol for "Beckon," a "come here" finger for "beck and call," and a pic of Beck with a phone for "Beck calling"

Beyond the pail/pale? This one is a little confusing. At first glance, neither ā€œpaleā€ nor ā€œpailā€ seems to make sense. But when you learn that ā€œpaleā€ in Ye Olde Tymes didnā€™t mean a light color but referred instead to a stake or pointed piece of wood used to mark a boundary, it makes some senseā€”more than going past a bucket šŸ—‘ does, anyway. Think of how the color drains from your face when you do something wrong, and youā€™ll remember to never go beyond the pale.šŸ˜±

Free rein or reign? All right, this one stumped yours truly. I thought this meant to have complete control over a situation, to reign over it, like a queen. I was wrong. ā€œReignā€ means to hold royal šŸ‘‘ office and rule over others. ā€œFree rein,ā€ on the other hand, means to allow someone unrestricted freedom over their actionsā€”or what a rider would do by relaxing the reins on a horse. šŸ“

Hunger pangs or pains? While being extremely hungry definitely hurts, the phrase you should use to describe that feeling is ā€œhunger pangs.ā€ Hereā€™s one fun way to remember the difference: Use your fangs šŸ§›šŸ»ā€ā™€ļø to alleviate your hunger pangs.

Home or hone in? Thereā€™s a reason youā€™ve heard of a homing pigeon but never one that hones. ā€œHoneā€ means to sharpen something, while to ā€œhome inā€ means to aim at a target šŸŽÆor destination. Maybe there are roaming bird šŸ¦ gangs sharpening knives šŸ”Ŗ somewhere in the world, but until they make themselves known, use ā€œhome in.ā€

Readers, tell us your favorite misused idioms! Weā€™re @illumyinc on all platforms.

 

Photo by Volodymyr Hryshchenko on Unsplash

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