I do not think this word means what you think it means

“I do not think it means what you think it means.”  This is a line from a famous American film from the 1980’s called Princess Bride.  This line is spoken in the following conversation between two characters, Vizzini and Inigo Montoya.

Vizzini: He didn’t fall? INCONCEIVABLE*.
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.

I love this movie, like many people I know, and I was thinking about this line the other day.  It started me thinking about different phrases people say in English that don’t mean what people think they mean.  So, I started looking for examples of these common phrases in everyday English and here is a list of some of what I found.  I’ve include the phrase, what people often think the phrase means, the actual meaning, and then an example of how to use the phrase correctly in a sentence or two.

“I could care less”
What people think this means: “I couldn’t care less.”
What this actually means: You actually do care.
Example: I told Marisa that her ex-boyfriend Tommy has a new girlfriend and she told me “I could care less”, but she used this phrase wrong because I know she does care.

“that begs the question”
Would people think this means: To ask or raise a question.
What this actually means: To use an argument that assumes as proof the very thing one is trying to prove.
Example: Paul said that exercise is healthful because it makes you healthy. That begs the question. That is saying the same thing. He needs to make a better argument.

“let’s table this”
What people think this means: To discuss something later.
What this actually means: In the United States, this means what American’s think it means. But it means the opposite, “let’s discuss this right now”, in most of the rest of the English-speaking world.
Example (America): I think we have talked about this enough let’s table this until tomorrow.
Example (elsewhere): This is a very important decision let’s tablet it.  We’ll meet in the conference room to discuss this in 5 minutes.

“to do a 360”
What people think this means: One completely changing one’s opinion.
What this actually means: One’s opinion changed, but then changed back to the original opinion.
Example: After talking to my dad about the presidential candidates I changed my mind for who I would vote for, but then I talked to my mom and I did a 360.

“PIN number”
What people think this means: This is a way to refer to ones personal identification number.
What this actually means: This is redundant phrase because PIN stands for personal identification number.  When a person says PIN number that are really saying “personal identification number number.”
Example: Don’t ever tell anyone your PIN.  It should be kept a secret.

“the lion’s share”
What people think this means: The greatest of all the possible shares.
What this actually means: This phrase originally comes from an Aesop’s Fable in which the lion took all, not the largest, of the shares.  Over time this phrase has come to mean both ‘the greatest of all possible shares’ and ‘all the shares’ or all there is to take.
Example: I left cookies on the table in the morning and by the end of the day my teenage son had taken the lion’s share of what was there and left none for the rest of us.

* inconceivable  = unbelievable

If you want to learn what more phrases and words in English actually mean you should check out the resources to learn English at Transparent Language.

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When I asked  my best pal what I should write about this weekend, she responded in her usual helpful and specific way, and said, “I don’t know.”  So I said, “Please help me.”  And she said, “Grammar.”  And I said, “Like what kind of grammar?”  And she said, “I don’t know.  All grammar.”  And I said again, “Please help me.”  And she said, “I don’t know.  How about how people are idiots and always say things like, ‘I broughten that in yesterday’ or ‘I boughten groceries last week.’  Those aren’t words!”

Then she cursed a lot, because she does not like when people make up fake past tenses for words.  Also because I had just hit a deer with my car.

People do like to make past tenses up sometimes, and it’s painful.  I suppose, just to be safe, I should say right now that “broughten” is not the past tense for “brought.”  “Brought” is.  Similarly, “boughten” is not the past tense for “bought.”  “Bought” is.  So I told my friend that I agreed with her–“broughten” and “boughten” are awful, non-real words, and if I ever heard someone using them, I would subject them to the most painful punishment imaginable: having to watch an entire episode of the NBC sitcom Whitney.

Unfortunately, as I also told my friend, I was going to have a hard time stretching that one complaint–however valid–into an entire post.  The post would be so short, Kim Kardashian would call it a successful marriage.

I eventually decided to dedicate this post to a few words and phrases that otherwise intelligent people (and plenty of un-intelligent people) use incorrectly.  This post will be the first in a long series tentatively titled When You Use These Words and Phrases Incorrectly, A Bunny Gets Strangled by a Rainbow: Part I.

1. Irregardless.

Irregardless is not a word.  Regardless is a word.  Irrespective is a word.  Irregardless is not a word.  Whenever you are tempted to say irregardless, just say regardless.  Think of the extra i and r at the beginning as saying, “I r stupid if I use this word.”

2. For all intensive purposes.

Do not say “for all intensive purposes.”  That is not what people are saying, even though it kind of sounds like it.  What you mean to say is for all intents and purposes.  That is the actual phrase–it means “virtually” or “for all practical purposes.”  For all intensive purposes is meaningless.  Like Kim Kardashian’s wedding vows!

3. I could care less.

The phrase you’re searching for is I couldn’t care less.  If you say I couldn’t care less, you’re saying that you care about whatever it is so little, it is literally impossible for you to care any less.  If you say–as many incorrectly do–I could care less, then it means that you’re capable of caring less.  And that means that you care a little.

4. Literally.

Literally means ACTUALLY or WITHOUT EXAGGERATION.  It signifies that you are not being metaphorical or symbolic.

Unfortunately, literally has come to be little more than a verbal exclamation point to follow something you obviously just fabricated.  You did not just literally eat a million hamburgers.  That old lady was not literally a billion years old.  And I never want to hear you say, “I literally died” unless you are a ghost.  And even then, duh, I can see that–you’re a ghost.  Leave me alone, ghost.

5. Nauseous vs. nauseated.

If you say, “I feel nauseous,” you’re actually saying that you are a force that makes other people feel ill.  When you’re feeling sick about something (like the incorrect use of literally), what you should actually say is, “I feel nauseated.”

That’s a lot to digest (and if you digest things too quickly, you could become nauseated. Ha-HA!), so we’ll stop there.  I wouldn’t want to drag this thing on for 72 days or something.  I mean, come on, what is this?  A marriage?

No, I can do better than that for a concluding Kardashian joke.  Here, how about this: Kim Kardashian was not married for a very long time, especially considering how much money and publicity went into that marriage!

There we go.

– – –

Editor’s Note: 

Most dictionaries have, by now, changed to accept the general populace’s use of nauseous as an adjective meaning “feeling sick.”  So you can use it freely knowing that most dictionaries–however happily or begrudgingly–support you.  American Heritage Dictionary concedes, “Since there is a lot of evidence to show that nauseous is widely used to mean ‘feeling sick,’ it appears that people use nauseous mainly in the sense in which it is considered incorrect.”  Other dictionaries have jumped on the train more wholeheartedly and basically slap me in the face.  Merriam-Webster’s says, “Any handbook that tells you that nauseous cannot mean ‘nauseated’ is out of touch with the contemporary language. In current usage it seldom means anything else.”

Oh yeah, Merriam-Webster’s?! I’m out of touch with contemporary language? Well, try this list on for size: texting, kool, pwned, and, um, Tosh.0!

I rest my case.

Tags: Grammar, Irregardless, Kim Kardashian, Lists, Marriage, Misused Phrases, Words, Writing