Why do people use phrases they don't understand?

[Lean L]

Prime examples:

Per se (and all the misspelled variations)
ignorant
'intensive purposes'
technically
literally
catch 22
ironic

Learn the language before spouting nonsense please.

 

[Drako]

Prime examples:

Per se (and all the misspelled variations)
ignorant
'intensive purposes'
technically
literally


Learn the language before spouting nonsense please.

Why do people not know the difference between words and phrases?

 

[dighn]

Why do people not know the difference between words and phrases?

something something about glass houses and rocks

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Prime examples:

Per se (and all the misspelled variations)
ignorant
'intensive purposes'
technically
literally


Learn the language before spouting nonsense please.

My favorite "Well, that is a mute point."

 

[ahenkel]

I literally don't care about this thread.

 

[Number1]

Prime examples:

Per se (and all the misspelled variations)
ignorant
'intensive purposes'
technically
literally


Learn the language before spouting nonsense please.

From what I can see here, technically, you are spouting intensive nonsense, literaly.

 

[Cerb]

How do people use per se wrongly? I have not encountered this, and it seems like ti would be difficult to judge, even if it happened.

 

[Herr Kutz]

I could care less

 

[spidey07]

My favorite "Well, that is a mute point."

It's a MOO point. The point is moo.

 

[jonks]

beat ya by three years and a week!

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=164646

 

[AstroManLuca]

It's a doggy dog world, and these discussions are a diamond dozen.

 

[BoomerD]

MOST people I know have a solid grasp on the English language...

per se/pər ˈsā/
Adverb: By or in itself or themselves; intrinsically: "it is not these facts per se that are important".

ig·no·rant/ˈignərənt/Adjective
1. Lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated.
2. Lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular: "ignorant of astronomy".

For all intensive purposes

de facto: The phrase is a corruption of "for all intents and purposes" by persons who have heard the phrase, but have not read it in it's proper form. It means "for all intents, and for all purposes."

de jure: Taken literally, the phrase means "for purposes which are intense. All purposes which are not intense are not included." This is almost completely opposite to what is meant by most people, and is why it is imperitive that persons use the proper phrase.
For all intensive purposes, everyone gets this phrase wrong.

tech·ni·cal·ly/ˈteknik(&#601lē/Adverb
1. According to the facts or exact meaning of something; strictly: "technically, a nut is a single-seeded fruit".
2. With reference to the technique displayed: "a technically brilliant boxing contest"

lit·er·al·ly/ˈlitərəlē/Adverb
1. In a literal manner or sense; exactly: "the driver took it literally when asked to go straight over the traffic circle".
2. Used to acknowledge that something is not literally true but is used for emphasis or to express strong feeling.

 

[ShawnD1]

I literally don't care about this thread.

Hmm that is technically correct. I do not care, therefore I literally do not care :hmm:

My car is literally the 2010 model.

 

[Saint Nick]

It's a doggy dog world, and these discussions are a diamond dozen.

Dog-eat-dog?
Dime-a-dozen?

DOLLARS TO DONUTS!

 

[highland145]

Why do people not know the difference between words and phrases?

Ouch.

When the shit hits the fan.

Wait. That one sounds right.

 

[sao123]

From what I can see here, technically, you are spouting intensive nonsense, literaly.

This!
Apparently OP doesnt even know the phrase...

Prime examples:

Per se (and all the misspelled variations)
ignorant
'intensive purposes'
technically
literally

Learn the language before spouting nonsense please.

The phrase is INTENTS AND PURPOSES.

My favorite "Well, that is a mute point."

MOOT

 

[HAL9000]

Because they are "teh suck"

<--- Doesn't know what that means.

 

[Wyndru]

'intensive purposes'

That was the first one I thought when I saw the thread title. I hear that all the time. I'm assuming you know it's intents and purposes which is why you put it in single quotes.

We also have a guy at work that pronounces the term "anal" as "an-all". "he is very "an-all" about things like this."

 

[BoomerD]

Dog-eat-dog?
Dime-a-dozen?

DOLLARS TO DONUTS!

dollars to donuts actually makes sense...if you understand the original use...

DOLLARS TO DOUGHNUTS (or donuts) - "The almost forgotten terms 'dollars-to-buttons' and 'dollars-to-dumplings' appeared in the 1880s, meaning 'almost certain' and usually used in 'I'll bet you dollars-to-buttons/dumplings.' They were replaced by 1890 with the more popular 'dollars-to-doughnuts' (a 1904 variation, 'dollars-to-cobwebs,' never became very common, perhaps because it didn't alliterate)." From "Listening to America" by Stuart Berg Flexner (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1982).

 

[tynopik]

i think this calls for a pole

 

[BoomerD]

Ouch.

When the shit hits the fan.

Wait. That one sounds right.

heh-heh...my dad (first step dad) served in the Korean War. He always said, "When the kimchee hits the fan." I grew up thinking kimchee was the Korean word for shit...imagine my surprise later when I found out what it really was...

 

[ahenkel]

I've never heard anyone use the phrase intensive purposes. I'm not doubting people do I just never hear it.

 

[Saint Nick]

dollars to donuts actually makes sense...if you understand the original use...

Correct...meaning "I will bet my more valuable dollar against your less valuable donut that ..."

This is what Perknose PM'd me a while back concerning the phrase...

Great post, with fascinating detail, thanks.

If I collect anything, it's knowledge of our English language. Please forgive this nitpick in advance.

Re:"Dollars do doughnuts..."

The phrase is "dollars to doughnuts."

It's a betting-derived phrase which means, "I'm so sure of what I'm about to say next that I'd bet you my (valuable) dollars to your (less valuable) doughnuts."

Why doughnuts? Most likely simply for the alliteration. Idioms don't have to make perfect sense, and seldom do.

27 results

617,000 results

If you are annoyed by my nitpick pm, just say so, and I shall never darken your inbox with such again.

 

[highland145]

heh-heh...my dad (first step dad) served in the Korean War. He always said, "When the kimchee hits the fan." I grew up thinking kimchee was the Korean word for shit...imagine my surprise later when I found out what it really was...

He was close enough.

 

[highland145]

Correct...meaning "I will bet my more valuable dollar against your less valuable donut that ..."

This is what Perknose PM'd me a while back concerning the phrase...

Brag post?

j/k