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Original poster

To have completely misunderstood the meaning of some sayings?

843 replies

KermitTheToad · 18/11/2025 20:53

I only found out today that the term Social Butterfly refers to someone who is outgoing and loves social events. I thought it meant you didn't like social events, as in you would fly away and avoid them. I also until recently thought that a Spendthrift is somebody who is frugal in their spending. I assumed that as thrifty meant not being wasteful, that Spendthrift meant being careful in what you spent.
YANBU..I see where you are coming from.
YABU.. You are a wally, go back to school!

OP posts:
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7
Heavyeyelids · 19/11/2025 22:14

Nobody seems to have mentioned the constant misuse of "overestimate" and "underestimate". So for example, "We should not overestimate the devastation brought about by the recent floods", or "the importance of their contribution cannot be underestimated."

Of course minor tweaks to the grammar changes everything, so:

"We should not underestimate the importance of green spaces for wellbeing" is the same as
"We cannot overestimate the importance of green spaces for wellbeing"

AgentPidge · 19/11/2025 22:14

Medicimama · 18/11/2025 22:03

Slow
Children
Ahead

Lol, yes!

There is a sign on a gate near me: Dogs Shut Gate.
They're clever, those dogs!

Zov · 19/11/2025 22:14

soupyspoon · 19/11/2025 22:13

I used to think he was a right cheeky wotsit calling himself a Sheikh when he was no such thing.

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😆

soupyspoon · 19/11/2025 22:13

Zov · 19/11/2025 22:11

😆 I LOVE this one! I cannot unhear it now, and Che Guevara will always be Sheikh Avara now! 😆

@CrowsInMyGarden Love Jelly Deals too!

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I used to think he was a right cheeky wotsit calling himself a Sheikh when he was no such thing.

WaaWaaPedal · 19/11/2025 22:13

Always thought nonplussed meant not bothered. Now I know I say non-non-plussed to mean not bothered instead 😆

Zov · 19/11/2025 22:11

diddl · 19/11/2025 20:36

they are also turned on rather on put (e.g. onto the stove) these days but put on persists as a phrase.

Does anyone remember pulling the chain?

Yessss. 😄

Zov · 19/11/2025 22:11

soupyspoon · 19/11/2025 22:04

Oh that reminds me that for many years I thought Che Guevara was called Sheikh Avara and wondered why he wasnt Arab.

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😆 I LOVE this one! I cannot unhear it now, and Che Guevara will always be Sheikh Avara now! 😆

@CrowsInMyGarden Love Jelly Deals too!

soupyspoon · 19/11/2025 22:04

CrowsInMyGarden · 19/11/2025 22:03

I grew up in London’s East End where a lot of people ate Jellied Eels. I always thought they were saying Jelly Deals.

Oh that reminds me that for many years I thought Che Guevara was called Sheikh Avara and wondered why he wasnt Arab.

CrowsInMyGarden · 19/11/2025 22:03

I grew up in London’s East End where a lot of people ate Jellied Eels. I always thought they were saying Jelly Deals.

HyggeTygge · 19/11/2025 21:48

I've given up with "begs the question" - I know full well it's nearly always used incorrectly but I have decided to be the bigger person and not mention it Grin I'll always say "raises the question" myself, though.

Gremlinsateit · 19/11/2025 21:34

Notthehill · 19/11/2025 19:19

This is the best definition I've ever been given. But how would you use it in a sentence? Is it something people actually say or is archaic? Thanks!

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Thank you :) Yes, it’s something that people actually say, but I reckon 9 out of 10 times they are using it incorrectly to mean “prompts the question”, so it’s no wonder it’s confusing to many.

It could be used like this - Person A: Abortion should be illegal because murdering babies is wrong. Person B: Well, that just begs the question (ie, Person A’s statement assumes a foetus is a baby, but that’s a key issue in arguments about abortion, so you can’t simply assume that a foetus is a baby to justify making abortion illegal).

merryhouse · 19/11/2025 21:10

Similarly to pp, I once said to my STBH that I was "not bothered" when he asked which of us should be responsible for noting the joint finances

For years he thought I was telling him that I couldn't be arsed

merryhouse · 19/11/2025 21:05

Sharptonguedwoman · 19/11/2025 17:15

You are not alone, I think.

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to be fair, the prodigal son's father does tell his older son "everything I have is yours"

In the mortal realm, the prodigal son has indeed spent his inheritance already and doesn't get any more - presumably his father gives him a job like he came home ready to ask for.

It's only in the realm of immortal and boundless that you can actually start all over again

Cailleachnamara · 19/11/2025 21:03

parababe · 19/11/2025 18:55

Omg, I pronounce it like Super Bowl….. 😂😂😂😂 Am I wrong then….??

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Hy-per-bo-lee.

Brahumbug · 19/11/2025 21:01

CryMyEyesViolet · 19/11/2025 13:55

I paraphrased but this is exactly how I understood epicentre… isn’t it a metaphor for something they has a core/centre/midpoint that then has wider repercussions in a sort of concentric way. It isn’t an epicentre, but I think it still works as a metaphor?

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No, it is just an example of use by the media as a faux intellectual device. Reminds of a friend who thought that penultimate was a higher version of ultimate and was disappointed to find it meant 2nd to ultimate. It is the same kind of misuse.

PetuniaT · 19/11/2025 20:52

You should of realised the incorrect definition of the worm

WhyDidntIGetAnySoup · 19/11/2025 20:51

diddl · 19/11/2025 20:36

they are also turned on rather on put (e.g. onto the stove) these days but put on persists as a phrase.

Does anyone remember pulling the chain?

Yes! Me! And I still sometimes say it even though I was completely terrified of high level cisterns as a child and maybe even a bit now as an adult, even though thankfully you don’t see them so often

diddl · 19/11/2025 20:36

they are also turned on rather on put (e.g. onto the stove) these days but put on persists as a phrase.

Does anyone remember pulling the chain?

IDontHateRainbows · 19/11/2025 20:33

KermitTheToad · 19/11/2025 20:24

They both have thrift in, but one also has spend!...I assumed it meant being thrifty with your spend,ie not spending much because you were being thrifty iyswim.

@Anxietybummer It’s a bit confusing in the OP but she has explained her interpretation twice without explaining what a spendthrift is. On first reading it looks as if OP if providing a definition and her interpretation, but she isn’t
I'm sorry that I did not put the actually definition in the original post, but that is because I erroneously thought that everyone else in the world knew the real definition so it wouldn't be necessary.

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Its one of those words like temper whe9re the meaning has changed. To lose your temper originally meant to lose control, let go of the brakes... temper being the thing that moderates your emotions, originally. ( still used in, eg, temper your enthusiasm)

But now temper means the thing the word originally was trying to moderate ie the anger, the emotion.

Mercedes45 · 19/11/2025 20:28

pitterypattery00 · 18/11/2025 21:12

I thought 'it's baltic' meant it was really hot until I was well into my 20s.

I burst out laughing at this one. Sitting in a park with your friends on a hot summers day, having a few beers, throwing around a Frisbee and yerone says "jaysis lads, its baltic"

Original poster
KermitTheToad · 19/11/2025 20:24

diddl · 19/11/2025 18:29

I know that thrifty means careful with money, therefore logically Spendthrift should mean thrifty( careful) in what you spend!

If you think of the thrift in spendthrift meaning money then it makes sense.

If thrifty means careful with money, why spendthrift mean the same?

They both have thrift in, but one also has spend!

They both have thrift in, but one also has spend!...I assumed it meant being thrifty with your spend,ie not spending much because you were being thrifty iyswim.

@Anxietybummer It’s a bit confusing in the OP but she has explained her interpretation twice without explaining what a spendthrift is. On first reading it looks as if OP if providing a definition and her interpretation, but she isn’t
I'm sorry that I did not put the actually definition in the original post, but that is because I erroneously thought that everyone else in the world knew the real definition so it wouldn't be necessary.

OP posts:
Matriarchofmenopausemansion · 19/11/2025 20:23

I was browsing Facebook marketplace recently.... someone was selling a Chester drawers!! 😜

I also used the expression " fly by night" at work recently, my younger colleagues didn't have a clue what I was on about!

I

WarrenTofficier · 19/11/2025 20:20

IDontHateRainbows · 19/11/2025 20:00

No need to put off a kettle, it puts itself off when it's boiled!

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Modern electric kettle do......
But that is a relatively recent development, they are also turned on rather on put (e.g. onto the stove) these days but put on persists as a phrase.
In our house the response to 'put the kettle on' is 'It won't fit me'.

NotForTheMoneyandNotForTheApplause · 19/11/2025 20:15

RememberBeKindWithKaren · 19/11/2025 19:01

My parents often used to say that something was " cheap at half the price". Well of course it was . What a bonkers saying. Even now I don't really get it.

Lots of people say that, it's just a jokey way of saying cheap at twice the price

fatphalange · 19/11/2025 20:05

Spendthrift definitely sounds like it could be short for, spend thriftily, as opposed to spend with reckless abandon. Fritterthrift!
A quick tweak to the friend indeed one would leave no room for ambiguity: a friend enduring/throughout/despite your need is a friend indeed.

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