Commonly Misheard Phrases . . . That Actually Make Sense Both Ways?

If someone is on the verge of being "canceled," are they getting a BAD RAP or a BAD REP? That's one example of a commonly misheard phrase that actually works both ways, which blurs the notion of what is "correct."

 

A website has compiled a bunch of these, and here they are, with the ORIGINAL phrase FIRST . . . and then the misheard version, which also kinda works:

 

1. Coleslaw . . . Cold slaw

 

2. Exact revenge . . . Extract revenge

 

3. Happy as a clam . . . Happy as a clown

 

4. Last-ditch effort . . . Last-stitch effort

 

5. Alzheimer's disease . . . Old-timer's disease

 

6. Deep-seated . . . Deep-seeded

 

7. Take for granted . . . Take for granite

 

8. Bald-faced lie . . . Bold-faced lie

 

9. Coming down the pike . . . Coming down the pipe

 

10. Whet your appetite . . . Wet your appetite

 

And it was originally bad RAP, not bad REP. 

 

 

(Mental Floss)