Sorry, But You’ve Been Using These Everyday Words & Phrases All Wrong

We’d like to think our convo skills are top notch. We’re chatty, current affairs savvy and have more banter than you can shake a stick at, but if a recent survey by Privilege Insurance is anything to go by, we might not be as good at chit-chatting as we previously thought.

That’s cos according to their survey of 2,000 Britons, three in four people ‘fess to getting their words mixed up in general everyday conversations, and it’s simple stuff like confusing ‘wreak havoc’ with ‘wreck havoc’ and ‘specifically’ with ‘pacifically’ that are among some of the worst offenders.

Here are the most common mistakes. How many are you getting wrong?

Misused phrases:

28% Hunger pains (Hunger pangs)
22% Wreck havoc (Wreak havoc)
20% Out on a whim (Out on a limb)
20% Mute point (Moot point)
18% Beckon call (Beck and call)
18% Escape goat (Scapegoat)
18% Nip it in the butt (Nip it in the bud)
16% For all intensive purposes (For all intents and purposes)
12% Extract revenge (Exact revenge)

Misused words:

31% Affect (Effect)
28% Pacifically (Specifically)
23% Arks (Ask)*
21% Suppose (Supposed to)
19% Yourself / Myself(You / Me)
16% Advise (Advice)
14% Genuinely (Generally)
14% Adverse (Averse)
14% Your (You’ll)
2% Crotch (Crutch)
12% Flaunted (Flouted)
11% Patients (Patience)
10% Banter (Barter)
9% Decimated (Devastated)
9% Photographic (Photogenic)

• Conversation
• Words