پنج اصطلاح انگلیسی که آنها را اشتباه می گویید

You know sometimes you have a conversation and it goes like this: got this inspection right here. You should go to the doctor. Nip it in the butt. Nip it in the butt? You go before it gets worse. I’m pretty sure it’s “nip it in the bud”, not the butt. Oh.

Well today, we’re looking at five expressions that you’re definitely, possibly, maybe, using wrong. “Nip” that’s what crabs do and your butt, well, that, we know what your butt is so, a crab nips your butt? That’s not right. A bud however is like a baby flower. If you nip it, it doesn’t grow. So this expression is basically saying, you have a small problem, deal with it now so, it doesn’t grow into a big problem. So, nip it in the bud. Not the butt.

Next, to champ at the bit or is it chomp at the bit? She’s chomping at the bit. Really? Chomping or champing? Champing, what is the challenge? Well, a bit is what you put in a horse’s mouth and a champ means to bite or chew noisily. When a horse gets impatient and wants to move, it starts to champ at the bit, like this.

So, if you’re super excited to start a project or to start work on something, you are champing at the bit. This is where it gets weird. Outside of this idiom, to champ is a kind of dead verb. No one really uses it now.

Now, we just say chomp. So, makes total sense that now, chomp at the bit is the more common expression but let’s not forget the original: to champ at the bit. For example, so for a question like: is he excited to start University? The answer could be: oh yeah, he’s champing at the bit or chomping, like now is fine, I suppose.

The next one, “a mute point” or is it “a moot point”? Or is it a: this is all a moo point. A Moo point? It’s like a cow’s opinion. Doesn’t matter. You’re arguing with your partner. Where should we go on holiday? The beach or the mountains? Both are amazing but, you work all the time anyway.

You can’t take time off work so you can’t go on holiday. Therefore, this argument it’s irrelevant. It’s pointless. The argument is moot. It’s a moot point. The argument, the debate is moot, pointless, irrelevant, a moot point. I like that. Actually, I prefer that version. Can we change it? Can we call the Oxford Dictionary people?

The next expression, is it “in one foul swoop” or “one fell swoop”. This expression comes from Macbeth. Shakespeare made this expression up apparently. Spoiler alert, in Macbeth, Macduff just finds his wife and children murdered, all at the same time. And obviously, he can’t believe they’ve all been murdered at the same time. What? All my pretty chickens in their damme?!

At one fell swoop!? He’s comparing these killings with bird of prey, swooping in and killing his family, like a bunch of pretty chickens, all in one, swooping motion. So the next time you hear “one foul swoop”, you can confidently correct that person with your new Shakespeare knowledge.

An example for real life could be, for example if a boss fires everyone in the company at the same time, someone might say: oh my god, he fired everyone in one fell swoop.

And for the final expression, this is me, every year. Every year when Game of Thrones ends, this is me: Oh my god, what happens next in Game of Thrones? I can’t wait. I need to know what happens next. I’m on tender hooks. The mistake here is, it’s not tender, it’s tenter, tenterhooks.

And the expression means to be in a state of suspense. Oh my god. You want to know what happens next? Which expressions are you not sure about using correctly? Let me know in the comments. Try to use some of these in the comments and I’ll see you in the next class.