{"id":2305,"date":"2016-09-20T12:24:10","date_gmt":"2016-09-20T18:24:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/?p=2305"},"modified":"2020-11-25T11:19:13","modified_gmt":"2020-11-25T17:19:13","slug":"you-cant-coin-whats-already-coined","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/apostrophes\/you-cant-coin-whats-already-coined\/","title":{"rendered":"You Can’t Coin What’s Already Coined"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sometimes you hear statements like this: They threw him under the bus, to coin a phrase<\/em> or To coin a phrase, he\u2019s not the sharpest knife in the drawer<\/em>. Those who say such things do not understand coin a phrase<\/em>. You cannot coin a phrase that other people have already used. When you use phrases that have been used before, you are borrowing <\/em>or repeating <\/em>a phrase. To coin a phrase<\/em> is to make one up. For example: To coin a phrase, he\u2019s not the brightest bauble in the brooch<\/em>. (OK, it\u2019s not great, but at least it\u2019s original.)<\/p>\n

We were surprised to find that online dictionaries give the benefit of the doubt to those who misuse coin a phrase<\/em>. \u201cSaid when introducing a new expression or a variation on a familiar one,\u201d says the online Oxford Dictionary. So far, so good. But then Oxford adds, \u201cor ironically to show one\u2019s awareness that one is using a hackneyed expression.\u201d To traditionalists, that part of the sentence is preposterous.<\/p>\n

Incredibly, other reputable online dictionaries no longer even acknowledge the original meaning of coin a phrase<\/em>. The online dictionary produced by Collins, a company that has been around for two centuries, gives only this definition: \u201csaid ironically after one uses a clich\u00e9.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next time you hear someone say coin a phrase<\/em>, see if you detect an ironic tone. In our experience, very few people use this expression \u201cironically.\u201d They say it cluelessly.<\/p>\n

* \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0*\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 * \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0*\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 *<\/p>\n

The phrase you guys<\/em> has been around a long time, but it has gained acceptance as the culture becomes more and more informal. Long ago it meant you men<\/em>, but then girls and women started calling one another \u201cyou guys.\u201d At that point, guy <\/em>took on the meaning it has today: a casual synonym for person<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Many people prefer not to be called a \u201cguy\u201d\u2014especially by overfamiliar strangers. But the specific circumstances should be considered. I\u2019ll be right with you guys<\/em> would not be out of place down at the neighborhood bar and grill, but it seems inappropriate in expensive restaurants or at formal occasions.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, back at the bar and grill, your waitperson says, \u201cI\u2019ll be right back to take your guys\u2019s order.\u201d Whoa\u2014did you say your guys\u2019s<\/em>?<\/p>\n

It can\u2019t be your<\/em>. In the phrase you guys<\/em>, the word you<\/em> acts as an adjective (like two<\/em> in the phrase two guys<\/em>). Adjectives do not change form when the nouns they modify become possessive.<\/p>\n

Nor can it be guys\u2019s<\/em>. Plural nouns ending in the letter s<\/em> add only an apostrophe to the possessive. We write one guy\u2019s order<\/em> or two guys\u2019 order<\/em>, but never two guys\u2019s order<\/em>. It can only be guys\u2019<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Therefore the correct sentence, if you must say it, is I\u2019ll be right back to take you guys\u2019<\/strong> order<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sometimes you hear statements like this: They threw him under the bus, to coin a phrase or To coin a phrase, he\u2019s not the sharpest knife in the drawer. Those who say such things do not understand coin a phrase. You cannot coin a phrase that other people have already used. When you use phrases […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,16,53,34,26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2305","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adjectives-adverbs","category-apostrophes","category-idioms","category-possessives","category-singular-vs-plural"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2305"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2305"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2305\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2305"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2305"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.grammarbook.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2305"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}