Common mistakes or misnomers

[wibble cb]

I have a colleague who cannot remember that we use intermediary banks, and instead always call them intermarry banks, I know banking can be a little incestuous, but that’s a bit much!

[craigjm]

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

That got me wondering why a Jaguar E-Type is known as an E-Type Jaguar.

Because on the early cars that’s exactly what it said on the rear. It changes with the introduction of the v12 to Jaguar E-type

[MBBlat]

Calling any grey painted ship with a gun a “battleship”. It’s a warship and now the USN have finally retired the Iowas there are no battleships in active service.

[Higgs boson]

[quote=I have one of these...



...and I'm seriously considering calling it a DNA staircase.
[/quote]

You'd need 2 of them for that!

[boxst]

skilly1 said:

ATM machine.
PIN number.

Don't get me started on that. Wrong on so many levels.

[Johnspex]

Mr Spoon said:

PAT Testing
MOT Test
Gas pedal
Put toast in the toaster
Im going to boil the kettle
Run a bath
One off

What's wrong with 'one off'?

Baths have been run since before I was small and I'm nearly 70.

[gregs656]

A lot of these aren't really mistakes but conventions of speech. It doesn't matter if a spiral staircase isn't technically a spiral, what is important is that everyone understands what is meant by 'spiral staircase'.

Same with 'I could case less' - idioms don't have to conform to logic.

I guess the 'common mistake' here is that people constantly mistake English for a language that gives a damn about logic, rules, facts etc when it comes to conventional ways of speaking... or that there are a set of rules at all.

[Cold]

craigjm said:

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

That got me wondering why a Jaguar E-Type is known as an E-Type Jaguar.

Because on the early cars that’s exactly what it said on the rear. It changes with the introduction of the v12 to Jaguar E-type

Returning to the car theme for a moment, people who believe that a Lotus Esprit Turbo is the same as a Lotus Turbo Esprit.
They're completely different and the names are not interchangeable.

As I'm frothing, those who call the Range Rover a Range Rover Vogue. Vogue is a trim level (entry level, no less) and not a model name.

[Louis Balfour]

FerrousOxide said:

motco said:

...in green ballpoint on a sheet torn from a spiral helical bound shorthand pad?

Keep up.

Louis Balfour said:

OMITN said:

Another convenient identifier of idiots: confusing infer and imply.

It isn't though, is it.

No, he's right. It is.

Personal bug-bears of mine are "undertaking" instead of "overtaking on the inside", "practice" and "practise" used interchangeably, and ditto for "licence and license" (Olivia Rodrigo got a stiff letter from me on that one).

ETA Oxford commas are fine, obviously...

Confusing infer and imply doesn't identify an idiot. Not knowing that "bugbear" is one word might do.

[StevieBee]

MBBlat said:

Calling any grey painted ship with a gun a “battleship”. It’s a warship and now the USN have finally retired the Iowas there are no battleships in active service.

Probably one for the any questions thread but as we're here... what defines (or it seems, defined) one from the other?

[snuffy]

I don't recycle anything. What I do do is separate all the stuff I no longer want (glass, cans, paper etc) and put them all into separate containers for someone else to remove and recycle.

Therefore, I recycle none of those things.

[GasEngineer]

Mandat said:

Mr Spoon said:

MOT Test

On a point of order, what is the problem with Ministry of Transport Test?

I thought this too - perhaps he means it's not a test of the ministry?

[slopes]

craigjm said:

2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:

That got me wondering why a Jaguar E-Type is known as an E-Type Jaguar.

Because on the early cars that’s exactly what it said on the rear. It changes with the introduction of the v12 to Jaguar E-type

And then there are those who become incensed because you didn't refer to that particular model as an XKE

[snuffy]

"The buffet car is now open for snacks, drinks and refreshments"

But snacks and drinks are refreshments, there's no need to say it twice.

[snuffy]

GasEngineer said:

Mandat said:

Mr Spoon said:

MOT Test

On a point of order, what is the problem with Ministry of Transport Test?

I thought this too - perhaps he means it's not a test of the ministry?

There's also no Ministry of Transport anymore either.

[nute]

Doofus said:

cuprabob said:

Breaking vs Braking

Peddles.

…had loads of fun with that

[generationx]

Louis Balfour said:

Wacky Racer said:

My mum once told me my driving was too erotic

Your mum said the same about my driving.

Just as an aside, this made me chuckle significantly.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

generationx said:

Louis Balfour said:

Wacky Racer said:

My mum once told me my driving was too erotic

Your mum said the same about my driving.

Just as an aside, this made me chuckle significantly.

My mate had a new girlfriend round to meet the parents. She proudly told them she’d been playing fellatio all afternoon. (She meant Subbuteo)

[deadtom]

Trenchard said:

FerrousOxide said:

Hung by my own petard.

I know my use of English is full of errors and I've never said that I'm not a hypocrite (I make spelling mistakes far worse than those which irritate me in others). Won't get bugbear wrong again, though....

It's "Hoist with his own petard" (Shakespeare, Hamlet). A petard was an explosive device that would 'hoist' you, i.e. blow you into the air. It wasn't used by executioners, who hanged people.

[paulguitar]

gregs656 said:

Same with 'I could case less' - idioms don't have to conform to logic.

The problem with that one is it appears so glaringly illogical that it is difficult to ignore.

Johnspex said:

Baths have been run since before I was small and I'm nearly 70.

You should go and check on those, they've probably overflowed.