Thea
In a world run by the internet and the mass spread of information (true and false), word and phrase misuses can become a pop culture movement. Before you know it, people are falling by the waste side and barking around the wrong bush.
Did you catch those?
Even without the internet, everyone has an array of words or phrases they used to use or pronounce horribly wrong.
Some misuses are not so common, like ordering the chi-pottle sauce at a Mexican restaurant or your little brother looking out the window on long drives, seeing any horned creature, and saying, “Look, a cantaloupe!” (true stories).
However, maybe you too sang the alphabet in kindergarten and couldn’t figure out which word started with the letter “elemeno” (L, M, N, O, P …). Maybe, being from a northern state, you also ordered BAG-els. Maybe you didn’t know whether your cousin was getting her MBA or was in the NBA.
Many of the “misuses” that will be mentioned are malapropisms, or the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar sounding word. Another newer word for this is “eggcorns.” You could probably go your whole life committing eggcorns without anyone saying a thing—ignorance is bliss and all that. However, if you’d like to be enlightened (or prove your superiority by already being correct), read on.
To challenge your preexisting knowledge, take this quiz before continuing.
1. For all intensive purposes …
Correct use: for all intents and purposes …
This phrase means “in effect” or “essentially”.
2. Rebel rouser
Correct use: rabble rouser
“Rebel rouser” makes so much more sense, but, alas, rebel rouser is incorrect. A rabble rouser is someone that “stirs up the masses of the people.”
3. Effect vs Affect
When something affects, the result is an effect.
Both are correct, just often misused. “Effect” is a noun whereas “affect” is a verb. A good memory technique to recall the proper use is to remember Affect = Action.
4. e.g. vs i.e.
He has great taste in music, e.g., Mellowdrone and SYML, i.e., alternative music.
Similarly to effect and affect, both e.g. and i.e. are real acronyms. However, they are often misconstrued.
E.g. stands for the latin “exempli gratia” and means “for example.”
I.e. stands for the latin “id est” and means “that is.”
5. Ironic
Quotes that reveal actual irony:
I almost never hear this word used correctly. People often use it to note coincidences, strange surprises or instances of luck (and lack thereof). These statements normally go like this:
“And so I walked into the café and my ex was literally right there! He, like, never goes to that cafe!”
“No way! That’s literally so ironic!”
NO. That is coincidental.
Irony actually refers to something different than expected. Something might be odd or humorous because it suggests the opposite of what you intend or it has an opposite effect from what was expected. In other words, irony involves a contrast or a juxtaposition.
Back to the earlier scenario, what would be ironic is if you saw your ex at the butcher shop, but he is a vegetarian. Or, if your ex broke up with you because things were going too well (irony and an intimacy issue). Or maybe your ex said he was leaving to join an anti-animal cruelty coalition in Thailand, yet you see him at the café, clearly not in Thailand, wearing a real leather jacket and ordering the veal sandwich or something.
Regardless of the details of the scenario, expectations are not meeting reality.
There are multiple types of irony, but let’s leave it at that for now before I get too carried away.
This TED-Ed video does a great job of explaining situational irony if you are still confused.
6. Literally
Correct use:
A great follow up to the misuse of Irony is the misuse of “literally”. “Literally” is often used to exaggerate a point which directly conflicts with the meaning of “literally.”
Saying “I literally died” when you did not die, is a misuse of the word. Saying “he literally died” in reference to your dead uncle at his funeral is a correct, albeit strange, use of the word. The pervasion of the misuse of “literally” has led it to become accepted in informal English.
7. Anyways …
Correct use: anyway
Used very commonly, “anyways” has also become apart of informal English. When writing formally, use “anyway.”
8. Mute point
Or in Joey’s case:
Correct phrase: moot point
To say that something is a “moot point” is another way of saying it is irrelevant or insignificant.
9. Cold Slaw
Correct use: coleslaw
While the slaw is normally cold, it goes by Cole. You can learn more about its origin here.
10. Hunger pains
Correct phrase: hunger pangs
Hunger can be painful, but it apparently comes in pangs.
11. Butt naked
Correct phrase: buck naked
Even though your butt is exposed when you’re naked, “butt naked” is incorrect! Another one of those where the incorrect phrase seems to make more sense. The logic behind the correct phrase comes from the use of “buck” meaning “completely.” Other theories of the origin don’t have overwhelming confirmation.
12. Beckon call
Correct phrase: beck and call
To be at someone’s beck and call is to be ready to perform and command they give you. Again, semantically, “beckon call” makes sense.
13. Excetera
Correct usage: et cetera (etc.)
This is a mispronunciation fella. It has become very common to pronounce this one with an “ex” rather than the correct “et.”
Et cetera, often written as etc., is “used to indicate that more of the same sort or class might have been mentioned, but for brevity have been omitted.” The direct latin translation is “and other things.”
14. Lie vs lay
I will never not struggle with these two verbs and neither will the rest of the English-speaking population. They both involved the act of reclining or placing something down.
Let’s start with present tense.
Basically, you use “lay” when acting upon something else. E.g., “I tried to lay out my plans for world domination, but my cat sat on them.”
You use “lie” when someone or something reclines or rests themself/itself. E.g., “I just want to lie down!!!”
That is pretty straightforward. The real confusion comes about when using the past tense form of these verbs.
| Present tense | Lay | Lie |
| Past tense | Laid | Lay |
In case you didn’t catch it, the past tense of “lie” is “lay.” Ugh.
If you have any more eggcorns/malapropisms/word misusages that you’d like to share, I’d love to hear them. Leave a comment or message me here.
Review
For all intensive purposesFor all intents and purposesRebel rouserRabble rouser- Effect = noun; Affect = verb
- E.g. = for example; I.e. = that is
- Ironic: expectations did not meet reality
- Literally: truly, exactly
AnywaysAnywayMute pointMoot pointCold slawColeslawHunger painsHunger pangsButt nakedBuck nakedBeckon callBeck and callExceteraEt cetera- Lay = transitive; Lie = intransitive
