Phrases which make no sense

[WhereTheFuck]

It has just occurred to me that the phrase 'one in one out' (like when you go to a club and it's really busy) doesn't make sense. It should be 'one out one in' because you don't get to go in until someone comes out.
For some reason this is now really annoying me! Does anyone else have examples of everyday phrases that actually make no sense when you think about them?

"Winter of discontent" to most people old enough to renember would mean the winter of 1978 - 1979 where there were a lot of industrial disputes, strikes and severe winter weather. The Shakespeare was used for a newspaper headline which stuck.

Might yet be used again for 2021-22.

The phrase which alwys puzzled me is "No better than she ought to be" mostly used of a female who was accused of being bad in some moral way. Its an old fashioned saying and even my grandmother could not explain exactly what it meant.

Second guessing means changing your guess from the first guess. Said when your first guess, perhaps your gut instinct, turned out to be correct.

Good Lord. The saying is 'Cheap at half the price' and it doesn't mean it's expensive - it means it's priced about right.

The 'turned round and said' being linked to the plague thing is utter bollocks, and it's an infuriating phrase.

I'm intrigued by the notion that 'borrow' and 'lend', and 'teach' and 'learn' were once synonyms. And by 'intrigued' I of course mean - deeply and profoundly sceptical. I haven't been able to find any proof of this.

Others that irritate me as trite are:-

Its not rocket science (who mentoned rockets?)
Lets touch base (cant we just meet?)
Talk to me (when we are already talking)
I hear what your saying (when you are brushing what I say aside)
I was in a bad place (instead of I was depressed/sad/desperate)

@LetHimHaveIt not sure about borrow/lend but in Welsh the word dysgu translates as both teach and learn. So when speaking in English, Welsh people will often use learn to mean teach.

[quote ifchocolatewerrcelery]@LetHimHaveIt not sure about borrow/lend but in Welsh the word dysgu translates as both teach and learn. So when speaking in English, Welsh people will often use learn to mean teach. [/quote]
I stand corrected; sorry. That is interesting.

'Rocket Science' is simply because knowledge of the science required to launch one was generally accepted to be the high water mark at the time the phrase became popular (Space Race era). It's like saying 'It's not brain surgery' because that type of surgery is accepted to be the trickiest and most precise, with the highest stakes. You wouldn't say 'It's not knee surgery'.

But what about this "talk to me" when you are already talking to the person. What you really mean is "explain whats wrong".

I completely agree with the rest of your list. Particularly 'I was in a bad place'.

"As thick as thieves," I had to explain to DH that it didn't mean robbers that were really stupid.

One that always annoys me is when someone serenely announces “everything happens for a reason.”

I mean well yes technically that’s true, but it’s not necessarily “good” reasons…

@NotRainingToday

Spending money like water. WTF? My in laws say it all the time and just look confused if I say you can't spend water.

Water runs through your hands, you can't hold onto it.

I thought that sleeping like a baby means you slept so deeply you couldn't be woken up. Having had 3 plus grandchildren I've found that once they actually get to sleep you can't wake them until they want to.

@NotRainingToday

Also my boss describes things as 'barn door obvious' and I have no idea how this is different from just 'obvious'

This comes from the other saying: "He/she couldn't hit a barn door", which is used to indicate that someone is incompetent, even when presented with a very easy task.

A barn door is a target that's so large you can't miss it. It's large and therefore very obvious.

Sleeping like a baby, a baby has no worries other than when do I fill my nappy and when do I go back on the tit. Hence it doesn't like sleepless worrying over jobs, money etc.
An expression that really annoys me is 'Gilding the Lily'. It is a dread misquote of Shakespeare.

I have a Spanish friend who couldn't understand the English phrase "run out (eg of bread) and I think she has a point

Raise to the ground

@maryandhersheep

Raise to the ground

That’s a mishearing of ‘raze’ (cut down).

It's "raze" not "raise", meaning flatten.

X post!

@Thecurtainsofdestiny

I don't understand "Aren't I?"

It's not "Are I not?" but "Am I not".

In Glasgow they say "amn't I".

@piefacedClique

My husband is Scottish and his family always use the expression ‘at the back of’ when discussing time….for example…. What time will you be finished? ‘I’ll be home at the back of three!’ What does that mean! At the end of the hour of three as in 3.45 ish or before 3! Who bloody knows! Makes absolutely no sense to me!

After 3.

@ssd, yes, you best me to it !
I have never understood this saying. In fact, I googled it not long ago !
I love this thread.

'Aren't I?' probably originated from 'are not I?'