A Hard Row To Hoe

I always have loved reading and writing. As a child, I spent my free afternoons plowing through one book after another or writing stories, poems, or plays. In high school, I enjoyed English literature, and the bit of French literature I was exposed to in my AP French class. In college, I majored in Chemistry, but I swear my writing skills helped make up for my ineptitude in the lab–I might not have been able to get the right salt to crystallize in my beaker, but I could explain what I did (and what went wrong) in clear, concise language. As an attorney, I make my living reading and writing. And, as a blogger, I spend much of my free time reading other blogs and writing my own blog posts.

Hoe 1

I love language. I love plays on words. I love how seemingly minor word choices can have such an impact on tone or meaning.

Hoe 2

So maybe that’s why it really gets under my skin when someone misuses an idiom–or just plain gets it wrong.

Hoe 3

This week, I was reading an article in a legal magazine while I was eating my lunch, and was stopped in my tracks by this quote: 

… they’ve got “a hard road to hoe” …

As I often do when I am afraid that I’ve lost my mind and want to find out the truth, I turned to Google and was vindicated:

hard row to hoe
Web definitions
A metaphor derived from hoeing corn, meaning a difficult matter or job to accomplish..

 

For some reason, I could not let go of this mistake and get back to my lunch. Perhaps it was the context that made the error seem even more egregious: the article was about legal (zoning) challenges to front yard vegetable gardens–where people might actually have rows to hoe!

Hoe 5

And, next to the article was an article “debunking” possible meanings of the idiomthe whole nine yards.” Oh, the irony!  

Hoe 4Do language errors get under your skin? 

Can you believe how many clip art images I found for “hoe”?

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9 Responses to A Hard Row To Hoe

  1. The language errors that bug me the most are the misuse of words like their, they're and there.
    I was a chemistry (and biology) major, too.

  2. katsnf says:

    Lol yay for grammar

  3. Carly @ CarlyBananas says:

    And this post just put the Hard Knock Life song from Annie in my head.

    Got no folks to speak of, so, It's the hard-knock row we hoe!
    Cotton blankets, 'Steada of wool!
    Empty Bellies 'Steada of full!

    That's literally the only time I've ever heard that phrase!

  4. apkussma says:

    I see your language error, and raise you a math error. My biggest pet-peeve is when people say "do a 360". That's a complete circle, putting you on the same path/direction you were already on. Making a big change is a 180.

  5. Elle says:

    I am with you – find these misquoted or incorrectly worded phrases so annoying.

    When I see them, they pop off the screen or the page at me! And I wonder whye the writer wouldn't bother to check it out before they publish.

    One that really bugs me is 'for all intensive purposes' instead of 'for all intents and purposes' and how about about 'walking the walk' instead of 'walking the talk'. GRR!

    Fun post!

  6. Debbie says:

    I am with you (haha, I just saw that was what Elle commented right above me ^^). It drives me crazy when I read quotes or phrases that are incorrect (I also hate bad spelling and grammar (though mine is not perfect), but that's another blog post). There is no excuse! It is so easy to find out the correct quote. I do it myself, frequently. It's called Google.

  7. Carrie says:

    I love learning where idioms come from. And I hate it when they are misused as well. Ugh.

    Although misuse of your and you're kill me.

  8. Sarah says:

    Hmmmm not sure I agree.

    Sadly, some people struggle with English, it's an actual disability like Dyslexia for example.

    Nobody is perfect!

    Just saying.

    🙂

  9. Soapstix says:

    I am certainly not perfect, but I have a very hard time with weird ways people use words. Only out of respect for friendship I never corrected a friend. Instead of saying “while I am there” for instance, she would say ” how I am there”. This wasn’t a fluke, but an ongoing thing. How was slipped into strange places, when she talked. I never figured out where it came from.
    I cringe, when I hear someone say “these ones”or misuse many other words. I did not go to college, and I am old, but I have an ear for these things, and sometimes I would like not to have that “ear”. I might add that my Great Grandchildren (living with me), and other people often don’t understand what I am saying. because I use so many expressions that came from my parents, and Grand Parents. I don’t know if anyone else has heard it, but my Grandmother would say “fair to midlin”, when ask how she was doing. I am sure that is suppose to be middling, but Grandma didn’t say it that way. Hardly anyone I have talked to looks at me like they know what I am saying, if I use that expression. Many ask what I am saying. 🙂

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