It's "set foot", people, not "step foot"!

[BrightOrangeDahlias]

Yet another thread where this phrase has come up. It makes me want to scream into a pillow. Where has "step foot" come from?!? And can it bugger off back again?

Oh, yes! I thought it was just me. Alot is the most common, but abit, infact, incase, infront and aswell are beginning to creep in.
I’ve noticed the opposite as well, excessive use of the space bar -

Night mare
Lime light
No where
Hind sight
Nit pick
Now a days

I’m a fairly forgiving pedant, being prone to mistakes myself, but these have me scratching my head.

I have never visited this thread before and I'm almost afraid to post but you have mentioned my pet hate "spitting feathers" for anger.
Can I just add incorrect use of "circa".

I think I have posted this before but I used to work with a sub editor on a local newspaper (in case ppl don’t know, that’s the person who checks spellings, writes headlines, cuts or rewrites copy) and she said to me (I was also a sub): “Is abit one word, the same as alot?”

For about the first time in my life I had no words :D

I used to know a teacher who would regularly lose her 'plane of thought' - drove me bananas!! She was rubbish at spelling and grammar anyway but somehow managed to quality as a primary school teacher.

I try to not get too irritated with most of the examples previously mentioned except for the borrow/lend one - that makes me irrationally angry!!! As does saying 'haitch' for a letter H. Its 'aitch' !!!!

Maybe her plane of thought was just higher than those of the people with mere trains of thought?

’Haitch’ is standard in standard in Hiberno-English, not an error.

In Ireland we pronounce the letter h as haitch! So they would be correct over here!

Another one that people use incorrectly a lot is your instead of you’re or you are! Your welcome drives me round the bend.

Sorry if already mentioned but "slither" of cake 🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️🤦🏼‍♀️

Exactly. I really dislike the tone of so many of these posts, especially considering that often people's mistakes are a result of learning difficulties, English as a second or third language, and lack of educational opportunities.

I think it’s better for pedants, like me, to have a wee corner all of our own, to get these minor irritations out of our system. Some of them spoil the reading and/or listening experience, but I wouldn’t point any out directly.

DH has prostate cancer, if anyone else tells me about someone they know with prostrate issues, I’m tempted to ask if they can’t get up. I don’t.

And while we're setting foot, remember not to tow the line but to toe it.

O tempora, o mores....

Ugh, step foot. Coincidentally, it was on an episode of Corrie I saw today, reminding me how grubby I feel recording the show (a lifetime's addiction I'm afraid).
Anyway, it's 'set' as in 'put something down' - eg set the table, set an example. Step is an intransitive verb, you can't step a foot or anything else. Do these things matter? Yes if you care enough about language to learn its rules, and you're on a thread called Pedants' Corner. Doesn't mean you know everything, just that you care.
'X text me' is another Corrie-ism, maybe in other soaps too. Never heard it in real life, thank god.

'X text me' is another Corrie-ism, maybe in other soaps too. Never heard it in real life, thank god.

Oh gosh yes, “text” as the past tense of “text” is totally standard. Goodness knows why tho. I sometimes think I am the only person left saying “a friend just texted me”.

I had to read that twice 😂

My dad - and countless others - instructing my dog to 'lay down'

It's depressingly common. Similar to 'I am chill', and 'it was very cliche'. It feels like all the 'd's have left town.

I've just got the Bone Apple Tea one😂. I'll raise you Reaper Cushions.

'Where' instead of 'were' is on the up now as well. I saw a post on SM this morning that said "Where where you going?"

Re: the rein/reign debacle- I've read 'reign' used incorrectly for so long now that when someone uses the correct 'rein' it looks wrong!

Reaper cushions 🤣

I agree with reign/rein. So few people use the latter, that the correct version does now “look” wrong

There’s a precedent in the US usage ‘I was outdoors so much I got very tan’, which is long-established (but which I always find, probably unreasonably, a bit annoying).

‘Reaper cushions’ is priceless. Horrifying, but priceless.😱😀

It's depressingly common. Similar to 'I am chill', and 'it was very cliche'. It feels like all the 'd's have left town.

And 'I am bias'.

‘I am bias’ always makes me laugh because it sounds like a line from one of those medieval plays where allegories step forth and introduce themselves as ‘Truth’ or ‘Lust’.

Is there also a character in the plays who is called 'Merciless'?

You are not the only person saying 'texted'. 'To text' is such a regular verb, too! So easy to learn.

This is quite an interesting trend - which I'm calling 'participle loss' for want of a better phrase, maybe the linguists can help! 'I text' instead of texted, I'm chill, etc.

Another past tense trend I've noticed is that, instead of using the simple past ('she went inside') there's more use of the present perfect ('she's gone inside').

My theory is that people are picking it up from crime documentaries, because that's how the police talk: 'He's seen the watch, he's broken the window and he's taken it.' Curious as to why the police use this rather tricky verb form, because you'd think it'd be easier (and clearer) to say 'He saw the watch, broke the window and took it.'