Misquoted sayings

[sg]

I've just had an email from a senior partner that quotes the phrase 'False of habit'.
I've never heard that one before. Ones you hear often are Damp Squib, or Doggy Dog World.
Are there any others you have heard people say?

[Georgiesmum]

When i used to work in a supermarket many years ago, a customer asked me where the Black and Crosswell salad cream was.

[Nummy]

Kat Von D on LA ink...."It's not rocket surgery"

[mrs_overall]

My late mum was once talking about someone who had a fur coat and said "It's not real fur, it's stimulated"

[kernowgirl99]

It drives me bonkers when I hear "coup de gras" instead of "grace", the former meaning "the blow of grease" and the latter the "mercy blow"! I know I'm a pedantic old f*rt but GRRRRR. :-)

[mrs_overall]

In a similar vein, my youngest was listening to music the other day and told me the band was called The Catering Chefs.
He was listening to The Kaiser Chiefs.

[gobblin10]

A young woman on The Jeremy Kyle Show mentioned going to hospickle. <groan!>

[jomifl]

can't you get sausages in Cumbernauld?

[lankeela]

Remember the firm that made duplicating machines - my mum always called them Gesteckners. In a similar vein a lot of people talk about Rockweillers. I don't really give one toyota.

[lankeela]

A boy I look after sings Rhinestone Cowboy and sings the line 'and waffles coming over the phone'

[tenrec]

My mum thought the Beach Boys song was "Help me Honda"

[factor-fiction]

'Swinging the leg' and 'off his own back' are very common.

Talking of "wouldn't say 'boo' to a ghost" (instead of GOOSE), I recall that the correct expression was " say bo (or boh) to a goose". Maybe MarkRae or someone will confirm this or correct me.

[factor-fiction]

Was it KD Lang who sang "Can't stand Gravy"?

[Hopkirk]

In Louis Armstrong's 'What A Wonderful World' I always hear the line 'the dog's say goodnight'

[SpikeyBush]

There is a satirical slot on the Ian Dempsey Breakfast Show on Today FM in Ireland called "Gift Grub" and amongst all the politicians and footballers, they regularly take the pee out of Ronan Keating too, the way he always gets these sayings wrong, like "The Bee's Shoes" and "Lock, stock and bullets"

If ever you're at a car boot sale and see a "Gift Grub" CD on sale for a pound, buy it. One comes out every year.

[jabuchanjx]

It's a Doggy-Dog World. I always thought it was "its a dog eat dog world"

[ClareA]

gobblin10: the young woman may have been 'frikened' when she went to 'hospickle' in the 'ambliance' - all of which I've heard, admittedly not in the one sentence.

My dear late Mum was a mistress of the malapropism. She described the bus service in a town we'd recently moved to as 'erotic'.

Mum didn't swear much but once, really cross with me on the phone, told me
'Well [eff] you off!'. So excited by the unfamiliar use, I expect, it made her all tongue-tied.

I've also heard (working at the local hospital) of people having drops put in their eyes to make their pupils 'diluted'.

[Canary42]

This thread is most amusing, it will have them rolling in the Isles.

Keep it going folks please.

[MarkRae]

Fulsome is a word which is often completely misunderstood, as in "please accept my fulsome apologies".

[wolf63]

I try only to use words that I know the meaning of, it limits my vocabulary but prevents errors.


I heard of someone asking for Orgasmic Milk - if only!

[Canary42]

Fulsome: I had to look this up - and discovered I've always had the wrong idea. Thanks for the correction. Here is an extract from the freedictionary.com :-

"Usage Note: Fulsome is often used to mean "offensively flattering or insincere." But the word is also used, particularly in the expression fulsome praise, to mean simply "abundant," without any implication of excess or insincerity. This usage is etymologically justified but may invite misunderstandings in contexts in which a deprecatory interpretation could be made. The sentence 'I offer you my most fulsome apologies' may raise an eyebrow, where the use of an adjective like full or abundant would leave no room for doubt as to the sincerity of the speaker's intentions."