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!

This was confusing as a child. Also. ‘get along like a house on fire.’

My husband has recently learned that moreish doesn't mean bland

YANBU. My DH thought the same with spendthrift and was surprised when I pointed out what it really meant. I used to have a friend who described herself as being a kleptomaniac, much to my puzzlement, since why would anyone admit to being a shoplifter? Turned out she thought it meant hoarder.

Yes prodigal means spendthrift but that wasn't explained at my school.

It proves the pudding is a good pudding, surely, if it gets eaten.

With your friend on this one

Oh get a grip. Why do you think transcripts are even possible if noone uses them? Professional law firms definitely do when you’re a trainee and junior lawyer. I can’t believe I’m even defending myself here. Lighten up!

The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb. Invariably used to mean the opposite.

And horses! We’re a very horsey nation at heart!

Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth
On your tod (my personal favourite)
Kick on
Feeling his oats
Straight from the horse’s mouth
Close the stable door after the horse has bolted
Put the cart before the horse
Chomping at the bit
Flogging a dead horse

I could go on!

Your friend is wrong. It’s a reference used in literature historically to describe dark features such as hair and eyes, of primarily European white men. Not skin colour. Now it may be interested as that today, but it’s not its origins.

Not sayings as such but till my early 20s I for some reason thought wealthy and healthy had the same meaning. I cringe thinking about a hospital placement I had at uni and I had to do a case study on a man and kept emphasising how wealthy he was prior to getting sick

I can never remember what 'deceptively large' or 'deceptively small' mean as I can't work out where the deception lies. Is deceptively small something that appears small but deceives you into thinking this and is actually large? Or is deceptively large something that deceives you into thinking it is small when actually it has more space than it appears? If anyone knows, please share.

Thought the same

One of my colleagues once said “I’m not parfait with that”. Made me laugh. 🍨

Maybe she didn't mean that, per say.

I thought it was mindfield not minefield - as in - oh gosh what a minefield, when present with a problem.

Although when I reflected - I prefer mindfield so I'm sticking with it.

I said someone on Hannah Hampton was a woman after my own heart because she wears her hair in a plait and I do too ie she likes what I like. My DD thought I was saying HH has a crush on me ie she’s going after my heart. Vey confused DD till I explained.

Now my mind is blown!
Which is it? They both make sense.

Not quite - it’s nothing to do with "proving it". The word "proof" in the saying means "test". It means the only way to really know how good or bad something is, is by actually experiencing it. It’s a bit like "you can’t judge a book by its cover". You can only check or find out how good the pudding is by actually eating it (not just looking at it).

A social butterfly is someone who loves social events. OP thought it meant someone who avoided social events. How on earth are those meanings 'close'?

Horses for courses

I thought the same about spendthrift, until fairly recently

And i thought (until about 5 years ago) that silicon valley referred to an area in the US where loads of people had plastic surgery

I think that may reveal your friend's bias actually...the "dark" does not necessarily refer to skin tone, it can also just mean hair and even personality. In Scotland the traditional first-footer on Hogmanay is a tall, dark-haired man (handsomeness not necessary apparently), to ensure he isn't a Viking!

Per se - by itself, as such.

Now I thought it was 'I'll lead you all in the dance-a-dee.'

I thought WTF is a dance-a-dee? 😆

@fromthegecko that's the one I was thinking of!

Also, bucolic. Doesn't sound like its meaning at all.

I am very familiar with spendthrift, though, as I was often called it as a child because I'd spend all my pocket money, while my sibling saved.