Hunger Pangs
✅: hunger pangs 🛑: hunger pains Meaning: a natural reaction to an empty stomach This was one I vividly remember fighting as a child but a pang is pain, just with a sharper edge.
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Sleight of Hand
✅: sleight of hand🛑: slight of hand Meaning: manual dexterity; skillful deception To get this one right, remember “sleight” refers to deceit and cunning, whereas, “slight” means slim or lacking substance. Therefore, in this idiom we are commenting on the cunning way by which someone uses their hands, rather than their hand’s appearance.
Exact Revenge
✅: exact revenge🛑: extract revenge Meaning: to inflict punishment for a wrong “Exact” is likely first recognized as an adjective (meaning it is completely correct), but here it is used as a verb (to demand or compel). Therefore, we aren’t trying to suggest it is a specific revenge, but one that is required.
Case in Point
✅: case in point🛑: case and point Meaning: illustrative, relevant, or pertinent case In point used to mean “ready for action,” though the phrase has since been retired from common usage. While and makes sense in modern times, this is a case of a fossil phrase that still lingers in the form of this idiom.
Beck and Call
✅: beck and call🛑: beckon call Meaning: to obey a commmand I used to get this wrong until I realized “beckon” and “call” are synonyms and would thus be redundant. Additionally, a “beck” is a bow or curtsy, making to be at one’s “beck and call” is to be ready to obey that person’s command …
“Couldn’t Care Less”
✅: couldn’t care less 🛑: could care less Meaning: indicates one’s complete lack of interest in something This one’s a personal pet peeve of mine. While the dictionary, for some reason, lists both as acceptable meaning for the same time, I argue if you “COULD care less,” there’s room to care more and still room …
“Deep-Seated”
✅: deep-seated 🛑: deep-seeded Meaning: strongly felt or believed and very difficult to alter or remove From the verb seat, as in “to situate,” the expression is believed to have originated as a descriptor for infections and diseases that were located deep within the body, and thus difficult to eradicate.
“Piqued My Interest”
✅: piqued my interest 🛑: peaked my interest Meaning: to make curious or spark intrigue Piqued = to excite through interest (HOWEVER, pique is a French word meaning, “to prick,” so it also means slightly angry or annoyed)Peaked = to reach the highest point of activityPeeked = to glance quickly
“Shoo-In”
The SaturdayShoe-Inns Idioms & Sayings from Yesteryear ✅: shoo-in 🛑: shoe-in Meaning: a sure winner; a sure thing I got this one wrong for years! 👞👠 Shoe just makes so much sense! You want to get your foot in the door, so your shoe must be inside, non?
Nerds and Magic and Demons, Oh My!
I have a complicated relationship with religion. My dad, an Irish Italian, was raised ultra-Catholic. My mom, very much a southern belle, was raised Protestant. My parents could never come to terms with the best way to instill religion in me, but since they were married in the Church, it was expected that any children …