Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Pedants' corner
Original poster

..."to all intensive purposes..."

322 replies

BelfastBloke · 17/09/2010 06:15

Anyone notice this yesterday in a thread?

I kept waiting for a pedant to jump in, but you didn't.

What are some other comedy mishearings?

OP posts:
Original poster
BelfastBloke · 28/11/2010 17:02

actually this thread is at its best when it is about mis-expressions rather than misspellings or mispronunciations, but still...

"it sounds like you had a wail of a time!"

OP posts:
BelfastRingingOutForXmasBloke · 15/12/2010 07:33

And I've just got an email from our estate agents who are trying to sell a house in a "sort-after village".

Sapphire2012 · 26/12/2010 08:44

One that always gets me is "Chester drawers" not "chest of drawers" I swear people think "chester" is the make of drawers

Go · 16/01/2011 20:09

My neighbour has an "emergency heater" for her hot water. Her husband plays "bowels" twice a week and her friend recently had "cancer of the cologne".

Clunge · 16/01/2011 20:12

My grandma often says she's waiting on "tender hooks".

ArsMamatoria · 23/01/2011 23:48

'Off my own back' for 'off my own bat'. My personal favourite (seen today in the newspaper) is 'no holes barred' for 'no holds barred'. Snigger.

Original poster
BelfastBloke · 26/01/2011 11:37

My DD believes that Finding Nemo is all about finding Nemo, who was taken away from his father by a scuba-diaper.

OP posts:
cestlavie · 26/01/2011 11:42

One, by a former colleague to a client, but which I've seen elsewhere:

"At the end of the day, it's something of a mute (moot) point". Seriously, a mute point. How would that work then?

And one which frankly drives me up the wall which you see all to frequently:

"I could of done that as well". Oh my god, I don't even know where to start on how wrong that is. It makes me want to weep.

lightlyscrambled · 27/01/2011 15:45

Ooh, I'm having a stressful day and was on route to AIBU when I found Pedants' corner. I think I'm in love...

GetOrfMoiLand · 27/01/2011 15:52

One which makes me want to kill fellow mumsnetter is when they agree with someone else's post and post 'here here'.

Chest of draws is a mark of someone being a bit thick i think.

This just made me really laugh

Deux Fri 17-Sep-10 19:16:28
When my DH was once commenting on my behaviour shall we say, he called me a GORGONZOLA. It went something like 'deux, you are behaving like a gorgonzola'. He meant gorgon.

I very nearly PMSL what with the weak pelvic floor.

GetOrfMoiLand · 27/01/2011 16:33

I have just seen a howler on another thread on ethics in donor eggs - 'unefficle'

campion · 28/01/2011 18:02

' she put her ore in' - on another thread.

Original poster
BelfastBloke · 02/02/2011 22:13

'It may well be a deep-seeded problem".

Wrong, but makes sense!

OP posts:
thumbdabwitch · 02/02/2011 22:21

I love pedants' corner Grin

so many on here that I fully agree with.

Ones that really make my teeth itch to say something:
confusing 'effect' and 'affect'
loose for lose (drives me BATS)

There are many more...

AnnoyingOrange · 02/02/2011 22:27

free reign

no no no

it's free rein

AnnoyingOrange · 02/02/2011 22:28

tow the line

no no no

it's toe the line

DaisySteiner · 02/02/2011 22:34

My friend's baby was delivered by "mange tout" Grin

DaisySteiner · 02/02/2011 22:37

Slightly different, but my boyfriend-at-the-time's mum heard a news report about a criminal having 'the book thrown at him in court' and truly thought that someone had thrown a book at him. I thought she was joking and then PMSL when I realised she wasn't.

thumbdabwitch · 02/02/2011 22:43

Daisy - PMSL!! "mange tout" - that's a quality malapropism, love it! worthy of Del-Boy, that one. Grin

Original poster
BelfastBloke · 02/02/2011 23:05

I don't get the "mange tout" ref.

I do know that when my aunt was ordering mange tout from a restaurant menu, she pronounced it, "man get out".

But that's not what is funny to Daisy and Thumb, right?

OP posts:
thumbdabwitch · 02/02/2011 23:28

it's a malaprop for ventouse, Belfastbloke Grin

DaisySteiner · 03/02/2011 20:56

"man get out" is also v. funny Grin

Original poster
BelfastBloke · 04/02/2011 07:37

Yeah, it must have been written 'mangetout" on the menu. Took us ages to work out what she was talking about.

OP posts:
EricNorthmansMistress · 04/02/2011 22:12

Man get out Grin

Original poster
BelfastBloke · 02/04/2011 13:23

"It is of upmost importance"

OP posts: