Annoyingly misused words/phrases

[Echobelly]

I saw a listicle about 'Nepo babies' of famous people who looked just like their parents, when what they meant is 'child of a famous parent'. Not all of them were in the public eye or attempting to break into the entertainment or sports industry. Nepo baby specifically means someone using their parents' clout or connections to get a career, it doesn't mean 'child of a famous parent' and that kind of annoyed me.

Have you seen any misuses of a word or phrase that has irritated you?

I’ve heard this a lot recently, and it’s really annoying!

I say ‘ thing ‘ instead of think.
Get a bit mixed up!

Reticent when they mean reluctant. So fun. Excited for when they mean excited about.

No, I'm from the South West, now live in the Midlands, but I hear it all over.

Bored of instead of bored with.

Reticent when they mean reluctant.

Oh yes. Hardly anyone seems to know what reticent means any more.

YES this drives me mad.

Pop and Heads Up.

"That being said." Makes me cross. "That said..."

When a politician starts a sentence with ‘ look ..,👀 you know it’s going to be bad.

Not RTFT but...

Off my own back instead of bat
What do you think to this dress? It's of.

Thanks @MotherofPufflingsand @MrsResponderI came looking for literally!! I heard Jamie Cullum say on the radio that his house was literally made of records…..Really Jamie???

The nickname thing drives me mad too. It seems to be compulsory on MN that every child must have a nickname".
I've given up trying to point out that what they're saying is incorrect.

"Get knocked down seven times, stand up eight"

No. If you get knocked down seven times, you only need to stand up seven times to be back on your feet.

Done as in oh we’ve done Croatia, Italy etc.

Have we had the proof of the pudding yet?

The proof of the pudding is in the eating -
Not in the pudding

I actually saw ‘coldly sack’ the other day….,

‘Mute’ point instead of moot point.

"Decimate" as used by the orange buffoon.
"Nucular" as used by ...many

Americanisms creeping in:

Obligated instead of obliged.
Social instead of sociable.
The hospital instead of hospital.

Per say instead of per se
ect instead of etc
weary instead of wary
different track instead of tack

On the ‘cheap at half the price’ I agree that it’s been around for a long time and it’s meant to be ironic - my Nan used to say it if something was too expensive.

It doesn’t make sense.

I’ve heard people say “ oh my heart was going 10 to the dozen “ if they had a fright or got stressed.
surely they mean 19 to the dozen ??
10 to the dozen would mean it was slightly slower than is regular

Another Americanism is saying surgeries instead of operations.
"I've had 3 surgeries" No, you've had 3 operations.

A surgery is somewhere you go to see a doctor.

I’ve never really understood the cheap at half the price , as if you paid a pound for something and saw it later on for 50 p reduced , you are still 50p down. I suppose it just means it’s cheap regardless, but a silly way of saying it’s a bargain.

Speaking of annoying Americanisms creeping into UK usage - 'ass'.

No, it's arse.

And bum, not butt.

And if you're pissed, you're drunk, not angry.