Commonly Misused Idioms: Explained with Meanings and Easy Exercises

Idioms are the colour and texture of everyday English, but even native speakers get them wrong. Misquoting or misusing an idiom can muddy your meaning or make you look careless. Here are seven of the most commonly mangled idioms, and what they actually mean.

Common Mistakes

“Nip it in the butt”

Nip it in the butt. → Nip it in the bud.

From gardening, cutting off a bud before it flowers. To stop something before it grows into a problem.

“For all intensive purposes”

For all intensive purposes. → For all intents and purposes.

Means “in every practical sense.” The word “intensive” doesn't belong here at all.

“I could care less”

I could care less. → I couldn't care less.

The original means you have zero care left to give. Saying “could” implies you do still care.

“Baited breath”

Waited with baited breath. → Waited with bated breath.

“Bated” comes from “abated”, reduced or held. You hold your breath in suspense; you don't bait it.

“Tow the line”

He refused to tow the line. → He refused to toe the line.

From standing with your toes touching a starting line, to following rules or conforming to expectations.

“Hunger pains”

She had terrible hunger pains. → She had terrible hunger pangs.

A “pang” is a sudden, sharp feeling. “Pangs of hunger” is the original phrase; “pain” has crept in by sound.

“On tender hooks”

I was on tender hooks all day. → I was on tenterhooks all day.

Tenterhooks are the hooks on a frame for stretching cloth. Meaning: in a state of suspense or tension.

Examples in Context

✔ “We should nip this disagreement in the bud before it escalates.”

✔ “For all intents and purposes, the deal was done.”

✔ “She sat on tenterhooks while waiting for the exam result.”

✔ “He said he couldn't care less about the outcome, though his face suggested otherwise.”

Exercise: Fill in the Blank

1. We need to __________ this rumour in the __________ before it spreads.
2. For all __________ and __________, the project is finished.
3. I __________ care less about celebrity gossip. 
4. She was on __________ while waiting for the surgeon.