To have completely misunderstood the meaning of some sayings?

[KermitTheToad]

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!

I was going to say not fussed was one I hadn't encountered - but I have from IL it means they want to say no but someone feel it's not possible or rude to do so- so it's all tone and contextual but not something you can actaully ignore.

I don't think US English is as contextual - so not sure why so many meanings are flipping for them.

RobWord done a whole list of now problematic words

But now someone could say "I don't like any wine" and receive the response "me either" in agreement which makes no sense to my old fashioned ears.

Old fashioned ears here as well!

Also-I couldn't care less instead of I couldn't care less!

No I'm not correcting - was just adding to the list of horse-related sayings a pp had posted!

(I think someone got there before me though before I'd read the whole thread.)

Except it's a known fact that his original manuscript was Catch 18 but his agent asked him to change it (due to another recently released novel with 18 in the title) so he and his publishers discussed alternative numbers until his editor came up with 22 because he liked the double digits - * *Ocean's 11 had been released the previous year so that was taken.

Yes I tried to explain it to someone once. That if you couldn't care less it means that you couldn't possibly care any less than you do currently i.e. not at all. But if you could care less it means that you actually do care somewhat at this point in time.

Blank face in response.

Way too old to have been at school when KS4 was a thing 😁

I've never said it

So is carrot and stick a carrot tied to a pics of string attached to a stick and whilst you’re on the donkey you’re dangling it just out of eating distance to make it move forward? That’s how I’ve always understood it

Sorry, donkeys get beaten with the stick if they are obstinate. If they are obedient they get to eat the carrot.

I tend to think I could care less as just an American phrase.

It's like head over heels doesn't really make sense in English - used to be heels over head meaning somersaulting down a hill but was changed to flow better and due to misunerstanding as if you think about it heads are usually over heels and now usually means falling in love.

I saw an interview with Emily Blunt on USA chat show - she was explaining different usgae of quite. Quite good in USA is really good - in British English is just under good or okay.

In US English quite is an intensifier but in British English it's a mitigator -softens the adjective and that takes a while to catch on to.

Spicy and salty USA slang meanings are increasing ones I hear crossing over.

Surely, it's carrot or stick? I've always thought the carrot is an inducement. A stick is punishment. So you can encourage someone by offering an inducement (the carrot) or you can force them by beating them with a stick.

Same here. Carrot and sticks are opposite motivators.

There is a separate metaphor of "dangling a carrot" which I think is being confused here.

That's the promised reward - carrot on stick just out of reach to motivate donkey but at end of race it should get the carrot ie future rewards.

The stick is the punishment - ie if donkey doesn't do well they get hit by the stick.

It's a metaphor for different forms of motivation - avoiding punishment being motiavting and actively promising rewards for effort.

Ahh that does make some sense.

But if you could care less it means that you actually do care somewhat at this point in time.

Well yes-it's obvious because there is less to be done there must be some already happening!

I've just realised that I originally put "I couldn't care less instead of I couldn't care less"!

Obviously so incensed that I couldn't actually bring myself to type "I could care less"😂

The original donkey race it was or - one donkey was hit by a stick to motivate - other had a carrot out of reach.

Over time stick came to represent avoiding punishment as one style incentive and carrort ie reward other way to motivate.

In RL - people generally in modern work forces get offered rewards and threatened with punishments - both incentives being used for same task. Thus the metaphor been updated so and is used - because both motivators are being applied.

So no and is not wrong - if both reward and punishment are being applied.

Though I can see why there is some confusion now - when I never imaged any existed before this thread.

Yes yes I know. But the great thing about a great author is that people can read into a book many layers of meanings. Eg Shakespeare. No one knows what he really meant about anything as we hardly know who he was.

I’ve never thought the stick was for punishment. I think it’s just to hang the carrot off? 🤷‍♀️

I have only heard and used "carrot or stick" not 'and', which makes more sense (to me)

But you can give it a carrot as a reward without any stick.

If a stick is involved, it's either as punishment or to make the carrot into a dangling incentive that you might not reach.

I do think people are mixing metaphors here.

No - that's completely utterly wrong.

There two sticks in first written example and two donkeys racing. One donkey gets beaten with a stick as a motiavtor to win race - other has a carrort on end of stick.

Postive and negative motivation.

If you don't understand there is a stick representing punishment - well it's why you've completely misunderstood the whole phrase.

@diddl

Straight to the naughty step with you!

Can we please "cancel the thrift" now too? If people haven't got what it means by now, there is no hope.

@CatHairEveryWhereNow Ok. Keep your (cat) hair on

Prodigal is wasteful yes, but the prodigal son is more that he returned to the fold isn't it? Like saying the wanderer returns.

Me too! 😁 There’s probably loads out there who thought/think the same thing.

Not able to 'make ends meat' - always thought it was something to do with not being able to afford meat on a weekend... like no Sunday roast.