The Pink Elephant on the Wall

Twick

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 16, 2014
Messages
3,291
Reaction score
715
Location
Canada
I’ve got another one for y’all. Tell me what you think.

“Chafing at the bit.”

Is it wrong?

Nope. It refers to a nervous or impatient horse that chews on the bit by pushing it into its teeth. Apparently it's more frequently given as "champing at the bit," with the same meaning, but I don't think chafing is in any way inappropriate.

Oxford has it as "champ (or chafe) at the bit be restlessly impatient, especially to start doing something. Champ at the bit is used literally of a spirited horse that tugs at the bit in its mouth in its eagerness to move."

Chafing or champing can, in unfortunate circumstances, lead to the horse "taking the bit in its teeth," which renders the rider unable to control it.
 

Twick

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 16, 2014
Messages
3,291
Reaction score
715
Location
Canada
Thing-gee.

-----------

The one that really annoys me right now:

"i.e." instead of "e.g." when the writer means "e.g."

AAAAAAHHHH! I have so ... many ... colleagues that don't know the difference!
 

M. R. Kessell

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 30, 2018
Messages
132
Reaction score
9
Location
Brooklyn, NY
Nope. It refers to a nervous or impatient horse that chews on the bit by pushing it into its teeth. Apparently it's more frequently given as "champing at the bit," with the same meaning, but I don't think chafing is in any way inappropriate.

Oxford has it as "champ (or chafe) at the bit be restlessly impatient, especially to start doing something. Champ at the bit is used literally of a spirited horse that tugs at the bit in its mouth in its eagerness to move."

Chafing or champing can, in unfortunate circumstances, lead to the horse "taking the bit in its teeth," which renders the rider unable to control it.

For a long time I thought “champing” was the only acceptable word there, but you’re right, “chafing” works too.
 
Last edited:

Tazlima

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 26, 2013
Messages
3,042
Reaction score
1,494
-----------

The one that really annoys me right now:

"i.e." instead of "e.g." when the writer means "e.g."

Oh dear. I had no idea. *Slinks away to make some corrections.*
 

Lavern08

Sit Down, and Shut Up!
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 14, 2009
Messages
21,790
Reaction score
7,436
Location
7th Heaven
“Chafing at the bit.” - Is it wrong?

Oops! - I've always thought it was "Chomping at the bit" - Been saying it that way for years. :e2paperba

… And if you think I'm gonna change now, you've got another think coming! :tongue
 

M. R. Kessell

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 30, 2018
Messages
132
Reaction score
9
Location
Brooklyn, NY
My wife and I were watching a documentary series on Netflix about drug lords. At one point the narrator mentioned how the police "honed in on" one guy's hideout. I suspect they utilized honing pigeons?
 

Ellis Clover

watching The Office again
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 8, 2013
Messages
560
Reaction score
124
Location
Darug and Gundungurra Country
This thread is so me. I keep a list - here's a few that haven't been mentioned:

Out on a whim
Don’t ruin my parade
One in the same
Hobbled together
Case and point
Disappeared into the ethos
'You've got that down packed'
‘Yeah, I really resonate with that’
 

M. R. Kessell

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 30, 2018
Messages
132
Reaction score
9
Location
Brooklyn, NY
This thread is so me. I keep a list - here's a few that haven't been mentioned:

Out on a whim
Don’t ruin my parade
One in the same
Hobbled together
Case and point
Disappeared into the ethos
'You've got that down packed'
‘Yeah, I really resonate with that’

These are excellent! I love how you’ve hobbled together this list. I’ve found a few new favorites here.
 

Jml42

new fish;learning about algal bloom
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 9, 2018
Messages
77
Reaction score
8
Location
Somewhere out there
“Which begs the question...(Enter: some question that isn’t *the* question)”
 

Snitchcat

Dragon-kitty.
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 2, 2006
Messages
6,344
Reaction score
975
Location
o,0
A pet peeve I hear from various other writers (who should know better):

Would of
Could of
Should of
 

Aerythia

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 6, 2018
Messages
59
Reaction score
12
Location
England
Not a phrase as such, but two words that truly shouldn't be mixed up. I can promise you 100% that what I am about to say is true, its actually happened, I bear witness to this fact.

One of my best friends in school, we were 13 or 14 at the time, asked the science teacher;

"Why do faeces sometimes have difficulties in the womb?"

I think the poor woman quit her job right then. Following discussion it transpires that my friend had spent her life, up to that point, mixing up "faeces" and "foetus"... so the sentence "I went to the toilet and passed a foetus" would have been an every day occurrence for her... :D
 

M. R. Kessell

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 30, 2018
Messages
132
Reaction score
9
Location
Brooklyn, NY
A pet peeve I hear from various other writers (who should know better):

Would of
Could of
Should of

Now, let me ask you this, do they use them in dialogue? I think it might be forgivable in that case.

My biggest pet peeve: little dog sweaters.
 

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 13, 2008
Messages
9,239
Reaction score
2,316
Location
Oregon, USA
“Which begs the question...”

We kind of touched on this one in Post #18, but it really torques my jaws, because it has to do with a classic fallacy in argumentation of which the speaker/writer who misuses it shows complete ignorance.

"To beg the question" is circular reasoning which assumes validity of a conclusion rather than to offer logical support. It has absolutely nothing to do with asking a question. What makes it so irksome is the speaker/writer is trying to sound lofty while failing miserably.

And yes--as with all glaring errors, dialog makes it a different animal. :greenie
 

Jml42

new fish;learning about algal bloom
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 9, 2018
Messages
77
Reaction score
8
Location
Somewhere out there
We kind of touched on this one in Post #18, but it really torques my jaws, because it has to do with a classic fallacy in argumentation of which the speaker/writer who misuses it shows complete ignorance.

"To beg the question" is circular reasoning which assumes validity of a conclusion rather than to offer logical support. It has absolutely nothing to do with asking a question. What makes it so irksome is the speaker/writer is trying to sound lofty while failing miserably.

And yes--as with all glaring errors, dialog makes it a different animal. :greenie

Exacltly. Sorry I missed that post!
 

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 13, 2008
Messages
9,239
Reaction score
2,316
Location
Oregon, USA
We can't hear (or see as in the case of lipreading) this error, but it's common in written works I edit:

Writing "per say," when meaning per se, the Latin term meaning "in and of itself."

She wasn't a bad person per say, but she allowed herself to be influenced by bad people.
 

M. R. Kessell

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 30, 2018
Messages
132
Reaction score
9
Location
Brooklyn, NY
We can't hear (or see as in the case of lipreading) this error, but it's common in written works I edit:

Writing "per say," when meaning per se, the Latin term meaning "in and of itself."

She wasn't a bad person per say, but she allowed herself to be influenced by bad people.

This is why I avoid Latin in toto.
 

Jml42

new fish;learning about algal bloom
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 9, 2018
Messages
77
Reaction score
8
Location
Somewhere out there
begging_the_question_2x.png


Today’s xkcd comic seemed appropriate. :roll:
 

Chase

It Takes All of Us to End Racism
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 13, 2008
Messages
9,239
Reaction score
2,316
Location
Oregon, USA
Ah... a case where my laziness pays off:

Would've
Could've
Should've

Never lazy to spell time-honored contractions correctly--unless drinking on the job gets in the way. :e2drunk:

Dontt_Drink.jpg