Grammar Police Monday - Know Your Idioms

Idiom (n.): An expression whose meaning cannot be deduced from the meanings of its individual words (ex: jump the gun).

I'm going to start including idioms in my GPM posts about commonly confused words. There's nothing wrong with writing these from time to time, but, if you're going to use one, be sure to get it right. :)

Flesh out vs Flush out

To flesh out means to add substance or detail to an object or idea; to develop.

To flush out means to drive or force something out into the open, such as game birds or criminals.

Palm off vs Pawn off

To palm off means to dispose of by deception or defraud by swapping something for another item of inferior value (can be literal or figurative); to trick as with sleight of hand.

Pawn off is a corrupted version of palm off.

Jerry-built vs Jury-rigged

These two are similar, but not quite the same. If something is jerry-built, it is poorly made. If something is jury-rigged, it is fixed temporarily in makeshift manner, typically with materials one has on hand. The former has a negative connotation, whereas the latter implies cleverness.

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That's all for today.

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