Idioms are an artistry of language, but nothing excites me more than when they slightly miss the mark. Here are my favorite “almost idioms”:
The Wrong Ones (a.k.a. “close but no cigar”)
- Out like a rock (out like a light x sleep like a rock)
- We will burn that bridge when we get there (burning bridges x cross that bridge when we get there)
- Doggy dog world (dog-eat-dog world)
- I could care less (I couldn’t care less)
- For all intensive purposes (for all intents and purposes)
- It’s not rocket surgery (rocket science + brain surgery)
- Kill a bird with two stones (kill two birds with one stone)
- Don’t beat a gift horse in the mouth (don’t beat a dead horse x don’t look a gift horse in the mouth)
- Beating up the wrong tree (barking up the wrong tree)
- This is your world, I’m just an oyster (the world is your oyster)
- Potato, tomato (potato, potahto / tomato, tomahto)
- Old wise tale (old wives’ tale)
- I will die on this grave (I will die on this hill)
- He’s gone right behind my back right in front of my face (not wrong, just silly)
Lol, potato tomato