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Misusing expressions. (beehaw.org)

submitted 1 month ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I was on bluesky about to comment on some art someone made and was going to comment it is a diamond in the rough but I did a search to make sure it was rough and not ruff because it is not an expression I use much. When I searched it I found out it meant. "a person who is generally of good character but lacks manners, education, or style; a rough diamond." I just thought it meant hidden gem. Has anyone else misunderstood the meaning of an expression?

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 month ago (4 children)

Almost all idioms we use commonly actually originally meant the opposite. "Blood is thicker than water" is a longer saying about chosen family being the true strongest bond. "Great minds think alike" finishes with but fools seldom differ. A few bad apples, spoil the bunch. "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps" only a fool would try it. It's the most human thing in the world to twist sayings to mean the opposite.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 month ago

Pretty sure the "original" meaning of "blood is thicker than water" came later. There's a popular bit of misinfo that it's short for "the blood of the covenant is stronger than the water of the womb" but no one can point to a single historical usage of it.

I prefer the version that doesn't prioritize family ties, but I don't think it's the original.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

I like "little things please little minds" which actually finishes with "while greater fools look on" again completely reversing the meaning.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 month ago

"Curiosity killed the cat" but satisfaction brought it back.

"Jack of all trades, master of none" but better than a master of one

[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 month ago

I have heard of most of them except the great minds think alike one. I wonder if there is a word for idioms that keep their meaning.