10 شبهات حول الأقوال الشائعة 10 Misconceptions About Common Sayings

It is no secret that I love language and all things related it to.
Also, being a bit of a pedant, I love to share titbits of information
about words, phrases, and language in general. Therefore, I have put
together a list of misconceptions (one of my favorite types of list)
about common sayings. Some involve spelling errors, while others
involve conception or comprehension errors. Be sure to tell us your
favorite (and by that I mean most hated) common errors in the comments.10Scot Free




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Common Saying: To get off scot free
Many people think that this saying refers to Scottish people being
tight with money – hence something being free, but in fact the word
“scot” is an old Norse word which means “payment” – specifically a
payment made to a landlord or sheriff. So this phrase – while meaning
what most people think it means, has no connection to the Scottish
people – it just means to get off without having to pay.
9Fit as a Fiddle




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Common Saying: As fit as a fiddle
This is another phrase where a single word has confused people –
“fit” in the context of this saying does not mean “healthy” which is a
19th century definition. Its original meaning was “suitable” – and it
is still used in that context in the sentence “fit for a king”. As fit
as a fiddle means “as appropriate as can be” – not “in excellent
health”. The first use of the phrase, incidentally, was in the 16th
century and it was originally “as right as a fiddle”.8Another Thing Coming




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Common Saying: If you think that, you have another
thing coming
This is a complete aberration of the original phrase because of the
sound of English. The correct phrase is “if you think that, you have
another think coming” – in other words, “what you think is
wrong so think again”. Because the “k” in “think” often ends up silent
when saying “think coming” people have changed the phrase over time. Of
course, “another thing coming” makes no sense at all. To illustrate
how global this error is, when you google “another thing coming” it
returns 139,000 results; when you google “another think coming” it
returns a mere 39,000 results.7Eat Humble Pie




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Common Saying: Eat humble pie
This phrase means “to be humble in apologizing for something.” I was
slightly reluctant to put it on the list because it actually does mean
what people think it means, but there is still a misconception here;
people think that this phrase means to eat a pie made of humbleness but
it actually means to eat a pie made with umble (pictured above). Umble
is an old English word for offal – the bits of the animal seldom eaten
today (sadly). It was a pie that was normally eaten by the poor as the
finer cuts of meat were left for the rich only. “To eat a humble pie”
is an example of metanalysis (words being broken down into parts or
meanings that differ from the original) as it sounds just like “to eat
an umble pie”. Other examples of this in English are “an apron” which
used to be “a napron”.6Rule of Thumb




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Common Saying: Rule of thumb
People commonly think that this saying is a reference to a law
allowing a man to beat his wife as long as he uses a rod no thicker than
his thumb. It is, of course, completely untrue. There is no record of
any judge in Britain ever making a ruling like this – or any lawmaker
passing a law. The phrase actually refers to doing something by
estimates – rather than using an exact measure.




5On Tender Hooks




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Common Saying: On tender hooks
This phrase is very commonly misspelt. First off, what exactly is a
tender hook? It doesn’t seem logical does it? Well – that is because
it isn’t. The phrase is actually “on tenterhooks”. A tenter was a
medieval tool used for making cloth – the tenterhooks (pictured above)
were small hooks to which the fabric would be stretched in the
manufacturing process. To be on tenterhooks means to be left hanging –
or to be in a state of suspense.4Take a Raincheck




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Common Saying: I’ll take a raincheck
This phrase is usually meant to mean “I won’t do it now but I will
later”. This is the commonly accepted meaning (and has been for a long
time) so it is now considered to be correct. It is included here merely
out of interest because its original meaning was slightly different.
Initially, a raincheck was offered to people who had tickets to a
baseball game that was rained out – they would offered a “raincheck”
which was a ticket for a game at a later date to make up for the missed
game. This eventually found its way into shopping jargon in general
where a raincheck was an offer to sell an out-of-stock good when it
arrived back in stock. The meaning has eventually broadened to a point
that it is not an offer any longer but a response.3Free Reign




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Common Saying: To give someone free reign
This is a spelling error that leads to a misunderstanding – though
the meanings remain the same fundamentally. Many people presume this
phrase to mean that a person given free reign, has the “royal” power to
do anything they want. In fact, the correct phrase is “free rein” and
it comes from the days before cars when horses were used as our main
mode of transport. When navigating a steep or winding path, one would
relax the reins so that the horse could pick the safest path as he was
more likely to do a better job than the rider.2Wreck Havoc




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Common Saying: To wreck havoc
Havoc means chaos – and to wreck something is to put it into a state
of chaos. So why would you make chaos out of chaos? You wouldn’t.
What you might do is wreak havoc though – because “to wreak”
means “to cause to happen”. The two words are pronounced differently –
wreck sounds like “rek” while “wreak” sounds like “reek”. It is a small
– but common, error.1Beg the Question




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Common Saying: To beg the question
Let’s face it – 99% of people reading this list will not know the
correct meaning of “beg the question”, but that implies that the
mistaken meaning should really be considered correct through common
usage – so let us not fight about right or wrong – I will just state the
facts: “to beg the question” does not mean “to raise the
question”. Originally the phrase was “to begge the question” and it
appeared in English around the 1580s. It is a reference to a question
(or phrase) which implies the truth of the thing it is trying to prove.
Confusing? Okay – here is an example: “why does England have fewer
trees per acre than any other country in Europe?” This is a “begged
question” – the person asking is implying that England has fewer trees –
when in fact, it may not. Another example is “he must be telling the
truth because he never lies”. Decartes was begging the question when he
said “I think, therefore I am”. Oh – and for those of you who are used
to using the term in the wrong way, consider using “prompt the
question” as a correct alternative.