Common Phrases That Don't Mean What We Think They Mean

You may not mean what you say! If you’ve ever used a phrase only to find out that what you said wasn’t at all what you intended to say – welcome to the club. The English language has more words and special phrases than any other - so it’s easy to make a mistake. Here are four commonly used expressions that don’t mean what we think. Getting these straight could save you some confusion and embarrassment. We found these on AOL news.

•“I could care less.” Most people use this to mean they couldn’t care less about something. “I could care less”actually means that something’s important to you. So say, “I couldn’t care less.”
•“Let's table this.” Inthe United States, we use this phrase when we want to stop talking about an issue. In the rest of the English speaking world, it means just the opposite - as in, “Let’s put this on the table right now and discuss it.”
•“I did a three-sixty.” If you’re trying to say you reversed your opinion, then what you actually did was a one-eighty. If you turn 360 degrees, you change your direction and then come back to your original position – which means you’ve gone full circle.
•“Getting the lion's share.” This is understood to mean getting the biggest portion of something. However, the phrase originated in one of Aesop’s fables in which the lion took everything - not just the largest portion.


If you make a mistake, don’t worry about it. You can always use this tried and true gem: “Listen to what I mean, not what I say.”