re: Idioms You Thought Were Commonplace, but People Didn’t Know

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I wonder how many know what you mean when you say "you sound like a broken record"

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Know what this is?

There are all sorts of common sayings outside of the US that don't get across the pond.

"Show him your bouncies." Bouncies being tits, and it means to stall while we pull a new proposal together.

"knickers twisted" is the same as panties in a wad.

"You can have 12 pairs of shoes, but you only have one pair of feet." Refers to over-spending, software that has too many bells and whistles, money doesn't bring happiness, etc.

"You are not King Carrot." is basically Nobody died and made you the boss.

"The Devil doesn't have his shoes on." means that it is too early.

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There are all sorts of common sayings outside of the US that don't get across the pond.

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When I was newly stationed in England I had met this girl that was going to show me around the country side. We decided to leave early in the morning.
She told me to come knock her up around 7:00 am.
Come knock me up doesn’t have the same meaning to a person from England as it does to a 22 year from south Louisiana.



BTW I was there at 6:30!!!

this thread absolutely delivers.

between the people posting incorrect idioms on purpose, those who are oblivious to that and correcting them, and those who are posting incorrect idioms by accident, we have it all covered!

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between the people posting incorrect idioms on purpose, those who are oblivious to that and correcting them, and those who are posting incorrect idioms by accident, we have it all covered!

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could care less

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Pretty sure it's rights...

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Rights is incorrect slang.


Dead to Rites is the actual idiom.

When people are on their deathbed, and begin to actually die, the priest comes over and reads the Last Rites so the person will more likely go to Heaven. The idea is the priest waits until the last possible second to read the Last Rites.

So when you have something 'Dead to Rites' means it was 99.9% dead/finished, but not quite. As close to being dead/finished without actually being dead/finished.


So if a cop has a suspect in custody and thought he had enough evidence on the perp, but then the DA lets him walk because there wasn't quite as much evidence as the cop thought, the cop had the suspect 'Dead to Rites'.

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Rights is incorrect slang.


Dead to Rites is the actual idiom.

When people are on their deathbed, and begin to actually die, the priest comes over and reads the Last Rites so the person will more likely go to Heaven. The idea is the priest waits until the last possible second to read the Last Rites.

So when you have something 'Dead to Rites' means it was 99.9% dead/finished, but not quite. As close to being dead/finished without actually being dead/finished.


So if a cop has a suspect in custody and thought he had enough evidence on the perp, but then the DA lets him walk because there wasn't quite as much evidence as the cop thought, the cop had the suspect 'Dead to Rites'.

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Nah man, seriously. It's "dead to rights".

While "dead to rights" is slang, it is not incorrect slang as you claim. We sort of agree on the dead part, where dead means "completely", as in "dead broke". "To rights" has been slang for "properly" for a very long time. "Dead" is basically just amplifying "to rights".

"To (last) rites" sort of gives "dead" a more literal meaning, which is probably what makes it easy to believe that it's the correct idiom. It also kind of makes sense in the same context that "dead to rights" is used. But, it is not correct, and your explanation kind of loses its appeal when you realize that a "rite" is just a ceremony, and has nothing to do with death until it has "last" in front of it.

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is a fun game that I like to play with my wife where I act like I don't know what common sayings are. After a few years she's caught on but it's really funny to be on the other end and pretend like you've never heard of it and then have them explain it to you.

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How good is she at explaining them? Not translating them but actually explaining what they mean?

I like the idiom: Don't look a goft horse in the mouth, because it takes like 4 points of logic to explain why you should not look a gift horse in the mouth.

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The saying is “colder than a well digger’s arse.”

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Also, on dark moonless nights, I've heard "darker than a well diggers arse".