Work and Money recently put out a list of some commonly misused phrases that can make you sound dumb. Are YOU guilty of any of these?
1. “For all intensive purposes.” The correct way to say it is, “For all intents AND purposes.”
2. “I could care less” should be “I COULDN’T care less.” If you COULD care less, that means you DO care about it, at least a little bit.
3. “One in the same” should be “one AND the same.” It’s a minor difference, and you might be able to get away with it especially when speaking it as opposed to writing it…but technically, “one IN the same” is wrong.
4. “Tongue and cheek” should be “tongue IN cheek.” This phrase is literally describing the facial expression people make when they’re joking. Like if you were trying not to laugh and pushed the side of your cheek out with your tongue.
5. “Jive with” should be “JIBE with.” “Jibe” means to be in agreement with something. “Jive” is a type of dance, or a way of speaking.
6. It’s a “mute point” should be “it’s a MOOT point.” Obviously “mute” means to silence something. “Moot” meanssomething that’s insignificant.
7. “Deep-seeded” should be “deep-SEATED.” It means something buried deeply within an existing structure. I supposed you could get away with ‘deep-seeded’ if you were gardening or describing your March Madness bracket.
8. The term “shoo-in” is actually spelled s-h-o-o not S-H-O-E. It only matters when you write it…no one will know the difference when you’re speaking. Shoo-in comesfrom the horseracing term “shoo,” meaning to urge in a certain direction.
9. “Should of” is wrong, and “should HAVE” is right. People get it confused because the contraction “should’ve” sounds like “should OF.” So it’s another one that really just matters when you write it.
10. “It’s a doggie dog world” should be “dog-EAT-dog” world. A “doggie dog” world sounds cute. A “dog-EAT-dog” world describes a ruthless place, where dogs are so desperate they’d eat each other if necessary.
