Page 6 | Words/phrases you have seen in books that you have never heard a real life person say

OneUmberJoker · 2025-12-17T17:01:12+00:00

Little high little low - stuart little

EasilyPleased · 04/06/2026 11:55

Bunnyofhope · 04/06/2026 11:48

Completely different roots apparently!

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This is actually quite interesting.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/jerry-built-vs-jury-rigged-vs-jerry-rigged-usage-history

Bunnyofhope · 04/06/2026 11:48

ElizaMcC · 04/06/2026 11:19

Whaaaat is it not jerry-rigged?!

Some of these are just dialect from elsewhere, as has been flagged!

I agree about "padded across" though, ugh.

"Don't let's" and also "You oughtn't to" just scream Mallory Towers to me 😁

I verbally do think it's incredible how many authors don't seem to have ever heard people having a conversation in real life. Or maybe I'm being naive and books would all be shit if they're wrote dialogue realistically!

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Completely different roots apparently!

Whatifitallgoesright · 04/06/2026 11:31

JeremiaBoogle · 04/06/2026 11:21

David Tennet does this a lot (as part of his acting). For whatever reason I've fixated on it and it bugs me enough to dislike him as an actor

Clearly an unresolved issue I need to work through 😂

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Don't worry, there are many other reasons to dislike David Tennant!

SaffySaffron · 04/06/2026 11:28

A woman has just spoken to a man while raising her chin again in this book. Fiddle de dee!

Mousespoons · 04/06/2026 11:23

MrsMoastyToasty · 23/05/2026 22:30

"She padded across the flagstones/kitchen"
"His lip curled"

I read too much romantic fiction.

This… I hate all the padding people do in books…. I might excuse it from a feline but no one else

JeremiaBoogle · 04/06/2026 11:21

SaffySaffron · 03/06/2026 20:58

Tilting or lifting your chin in defiance or pride. Always women. A very misogynistic trope.

David Tennet does this a lot (as part of his acting). For whatever reason I've fixated on it and it bugs me enough to dislike him as an actor

Clearly an unresolved issue I need to work through 😂

SaffySaffron · 04/06/2026 11:19

Milly Johnson has used that in a book with it being said by a character from Barnsley.

ElizaMcC · 04/06/2026 11:19

Bunnyofhope · 04/06/2026 10:59

Jury rigged. In Rivers of London and just about every other book I am reading right now. I had to look it up.

Whaaaat is it not jerry-rigged?!

Some of these are just dialect from elsewhere, as has been flagged!

I agree about "padded across" though, ugh.

"Don't let's" and also "You oughtn't to" just scream Mallory Towers to me 😁

I verbally do think it's incredible how many authors don't seem to have ever heard people having a conversation in real life. Or maybe I'm being naive and books would all be shit if they're wrote dialogue realistically!

LazyFoxy · 04/06/2026 11:18

Hate, hate the use of 'padded' or 'padding' across a floor
Big-toothed comb for curls please! (Or your fingers)

SaffySaffron · 04/06/2026 11:16

GonetoGreece1982 · 03/06/2026 21:31

I’ve been reading Marian Keyes Walsh sisters series, she describes men as total rides a lot, I’ve never heard that phrase before.

If you met my friend Mark from Galway you'd understand that!

SaffySaffron · 04/06/2026 11:10

ReignOfError · 03/06/2026 21:25

I use shall. When I was young, it wasn’t interchangeable with ‘will’. I know that’s changed, but old habits die hard.

I see ‘leapt out of bed and ran a brush through her curls’ written. Presumably by people with straight hair, since I don’t think we do.

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We curly girls don't own hair brushes!

Bunnyofhope · 04/06/2026 10:59

Jury rigged. In Rivers of London and just about every other book I am reading right now. I had to look it up.

Walkacrossthesand · 04/06/2026 10:54

@Imanexcellentdrivercharliebabbit as a divorced woman , ‘erstwhile’ came in handy for describing my children’s paternal grandparents- they were the erstwhile in-laws!

clearlyy · 04/06/2026 10:42

I was reading Harry Potter and Tonks said “Wotcher, Harry!” I had absolutely no idea what that meant. Never heard it before, but apparently it’s cockney, so I never would have. Not one person up north has ever said that, I don’t think 😅

cheapskatemum · 04/06/2026 10:27

Friendlygingercat · 18/12/2025 01:14

How very dare you!

I use this one at work! It’s a playful way of responding to a young person who’s been a bit rude & usually makes them laugh.

Eyesopenwideawake · 04/06/2026 09:46

EasilyPleased · 04/06/2026 09:03

And it would be being said ironically, too.

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No, it wasn't.

JustJoshing · 04/06/2026 09:05

Oh fiddle dee dee!

EasilyPleased · 04/06/2026 09:03

Eyesopenwideawake · 03/06/2026 21:54

"To be sure, to be sure." In 12 years of living in Ireland I only heard that once.

And it would be being said ironically, too.

SaraOnSaturday · 03/06/2026 22:08

"I have been bent and broken, but—I hope—into a better shape."

Estella (Great Expectations)

IGotBigKidsAndICannotLie · 03/06/2026 21:57

Also in many films: "We're just alike, you and I".

Nobody in the history of the world has ever actually said this IRL.

Eyesopenwideawake · 03/06/2026 21:54

"To be sure, to be sure." In 12 years of living in Ireland I only heard that once.

EasilyPleased · 03/06/2026 21:54

Weedingtodo · 03/06/2026 21:49

Also common in other parts of Ireland.

Would only be used ironically around here!

Weedingtodo · 03/06/2026 21:49

Also common in other parts of Ireland.

Weedingtodo · 03/06/2026 21:42

HenriettaHenhouse · 03/06/2026 21:34

Anne in Amandaland described Mick Jagger as 'a ride'.

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It’s a Dublin expression so that makes sense 😁

HenriettaHenhouse · 03/06/2026 21:34

GonetoGreece1982 · 03/06/2026 21:31

I’ve been reading Marian Keyes Walsh sisters series, she describes men as total rides a lot, I’ve never heard that phrase before.

Anne in Amandaland described Mick Jagger as 'a ride'.