When you hear an expression and then learn what it means, it’s tempting to use it later on in your writing, especially if you’re trying to create a more natural tone. However, writing what you hear can lead to all sorts of newly minted expressions—such as “doggy-dog world,” instead of the correct “dog-eat-dog world” (a term that Cambridge Dictionary defines as being “used to describe a situation in which people will do anything to be successful, even if what they do harms other people”).

For people who speak and write English as a second language, learning how to use idioms and phrases correctly can be infuriating. It’s easier when you are a word-origin nerd like many of the team members at Stickler, but even people who grew up as native English speakers have a hard time using these expressions in their writing. Take a look at these seven mistakes and keep an eye out for them in your own work!

1. Incorrect: To give someone free reign
Correct: To give someone free rein

People use this phrase to describe a situation in which someone has the freedom to act and speak as they see fit. Naturally, the word reign comes to mind, since royal figures and rulers are able to do as they please. But the correct word, rein, should remind you of when people rode horses for transportation. When a rider would have to navigate steep and rocky paths, he would often loosen his grip on the reins in order for the horse to choose the path, since the horse would want to keep itself out of harm’s way anyway. If you’re referring to giving someone control over a situation, rather than total power over everything, giving them free rein makes much more sense.

2. Incorrect: Tongue and cheek
Correct: Tongue in cheek

This is one expression that’s easy to mislearn, since when it’s spoken aloud, and and in can sound quite similar. To say something in a tongue-in-cheek manner is to speak or write ironically or jokingly. An easy way to remember this expression is to actually try putting your tongue in your cheek. I don’t know about you, but it sort of makes me wink, and of course winking is a way of telling people that you are joking when you say something.

3. Incorrect: Pour over
Correct: Pore over

Many phrases are misused because they utilize little-known and rarely used definitions of common words. The archaic definition of pore as a verb is to “think intently; ponder”—in other words, meditate. When people are poring over documents or books, they are studying them carefully. Of course, “pour over” is a legitimate phrase in itself, but hopefully people aren’t pouring liquids all over their papers.

4. Incorrect: An escape goat
Correct: A scapegoat

In biblical Jewish tradition, the high priest would “place” the sins of the people on a goat on Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). By sending this goat into the desert, the people were symbolically sending their sins away from them. This has made its way into modern usage, where the definition of a scapegoat today is someone who is blamed for other people’s mistakes or for things that go wrong, especially when it makes a difficult situation easier for a group to handle.

5. Incorrect: Mute point
Correct: Moot point

The word moot means “debatable, open to debate, doubtable.” It can also describe something that’s of little practical value or relevance. When someone makes a moot point, he is talking about a topic or thought simply to debate it, but ultimately whatever comes out of the conversation won’t have any practical use in the real world. Mute as an adjective means “silent, not speaking,” and is used to describe people rather than points.

6. Incorrect: For all intensive purposes
Correct: For all intents and purposes

When someone says “for all intents and purposes,” they mean “virtually” or “in effect.” This phrase is best understood with an example: “Even though Stacy is technically Adam’s assistant, for all intents and purposes, she makes the major decisions.” Put simply, Stacy is, in effect, the boss, even though her job title suggests otherwise.

The expression comes from old contract law and was meant to ensure that a stipulation would apply to all situations. In this sense, intensive doesn’t make sense because intensity or concentrating on a single topic has nothing to do with the validity of a situation.

7. Incorrect: I could care less
Correct: I couldn’t care less

This is a “favorite” of editors everywhere. If you could care less about a topic, it means that you do care about it somewhat and could take your concern down a few notches. If you couldn’t care less, that means you don’t care about the topic at all—and this is usually what people mean when they use this expression.

If you struggle with idioms and expressions, that’s totally understandable—but we can help!