Most people regularly give in to the temptation to add a few common phrases to their conversations or writing, just to give it that extra oomph. The English language is just full of phrases where the meaning might not be immediately obvious, but they've been spoken so often that pretty much anyone will recognise them - although spare a thought for those learning English as a second language.
Be careful though: it's very easy to make a mistake when it comes to even cromulent phrases (cromulent, just to confirm, was indeed invented as a throwaway Simpsons gag). Here's some misquotes that a lot of people have failed to avoid:
"I could care less" should be "I couldn't care less". If you could care less, well that's implying that you actually care. Stick with the double negative.
Faithful day vs fateful day: if you've had a particularly religious or spiritual experience, you could safely go with the former. If you're talking in more general sense about a day of importance, stick with the latter. Luckily, they both sound the same, so this only really applies to writing.
"Nip it in the butt" should be "nip it in the bud". Careful now.
"One foul / fowl swoop" should be "one fell swoop". This is an extremely common one, with the correct phrase of Shakespearean origin - Macbeth, to be exact.
"Damp squid" should be "damp squib". This was once voted the most misquoted phrase in Britain. A squib is a small explosive device or firework: when damp, it would most likely fail to go boom.
"On tender hooks" should be "on tenterhooks". Tender hooks? That's a bit of a contradiction in terms, as hooks don't tend to be all that soft or affectionate. According to those language experts at Merriam-Webster, a tenterhook refers to "a sharp hooked nail used especially for fastening cloth on a tenter", while a tenter is "a frame or endless track with hooks or clips along two sides that is used for drying and stretching cloth". Some people have had fun with this one though: a low-budget documentary film from earlier this year was released with the title On Tender Hooks.
"You've got another thing coming" should - or at least could - be "you've got another think coming". "Hold on a minute!", I hear you yell. "Are you saying that Judas Priest is wrong?" Not exactly. A lot of people do believe the full phrase should be, "If you think you're going to get away with it, you've got another think coming", and there are earlier recorded uses of that than the more common "thing" version. In this case, however, it's safe to say they're both acceptable, as the thing variant has become so widely used. Only some of the more pedantic English speakers would insist otherwise. But hey, what would language be without some pedantry?
