Clifford & CoIt’s quite difficult to come up with a complete A-to-Z series of posts because not quite all the letters of the alphabet offer suitable material.
In UK English we use the word quite as an adverb to mean “completely” and we also use it to mean “to a certain extent”.
I recently read an article accusing someone of pedalling false hope. I don’t think it’s possible to pedal false hope.
People talk of verbal contracts when they mean things agreed by word of mouth, not written down.
Strictly speaking that’s not the right word.
Naval gazing?
It surprises me how often people are criticised for “contemplating their naval”. I’ve seen this usage several times recently.
– “Sorry, I was on mute.”
– “You need to unmute yourself.”
– “I can’t find the mute button.”