The Most Commonly Mixed Up Phrases In The English Language Have Been Revealed

The English language can be tricky. It’s full of really weird phrases you’ve never seen written down but may have heard – or misheard, as the case may be.

Sometimes it’s just too awkward to correct someone who thinks they have a ‘tongue and cheek’ sense of humour and everyone is on ‘tender hooks’ whenever they tell a story.

Saying anything from this list is definitely a bit of a ‘foe par’, but hopefully you won’t find yourself becoming a ‘social leopard’…

1. To be pacific (instead of to be specific)
2. An escape goat (instead of a scapegoat)
3. Damp squid (instead of damp squib)
4. Nipped it in the butt (instead of nipped in the bud)
5. On tender hooks (instead of on tenterhooks)
6. Cold slaw (instead of coleslaw)
7. A doggie-dog world (instead of dog-eat-dog world)
8. Circus-sized (instead of circumcised)
9. Lack toast and tolerant (instead of lactose intolerant)
10. Got off scotch free (instead of got off scot-free)
11. To all intensive purposes (instead of to all intents and purposes)
12. Boo to a ghost (instead of boo to a goose)
13. Card shark (instead of card sharp)
14. Butt naked (instead of buck naked)
15. Hunger pains (instead of hunger pangs)
16. Tongue and cheek (instead of tongue-in-cheek)
17. It’s a mute point (instead of moot point)
18. Pass mustard (instead of pass muster)
19. Just deserves (instead of just deserts)
20. Foe par (instead of faux pas)
21. Social leopard (instead of social leper)
22. Biting my time (instead of biding my time)
23. Curled up in the feeble position (instead of curled up in the foetal position)
24. Curve your enthusiasm (instead of curb your enthusiasm)
25. Heimlich remover (instead of Heimlich manoeuvre)
26. Ex-patriot (instead of expatriate)
27. Extract revenge (instead of exact revenge)
28. Self-depreciating (instead of self-deprecating)
29. As dust fell (instead of as dusk fell)
30. Last stitch effort (instead of last ditch effort)

The above list comes from the results of a survey of 2,000 adults which was commissioned by Scrivens Opticians and Hearing Care.

Now to share your knowledge with the world…

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