Which phrase is correct?
I was chomping at the bit. | 16 (19%) |
She whiled away some time. | 10 (12%) |
He flouted his wealth. | 7 (8%) |
None of the choices | 14 (17%) |
More than one of the choices | 35 (42%) |
Congrats to 12% of you.
The first sentence is incorrect because "champing at the bit" is the correct phrase.
The second sentence is correct because "to while away time" is correct.
The third sentence is incorrect because the correct verb is "to flaunt," not "to flout."
Posts
3 comments:
According to my dictionary, "champ" is a variant of "chomp" -- hence, "chomping at the bit" is correct. I have never heard it pronounced "champing", and have lived a long life at this point.
@Anonymous - as one of the 12%, (BrE and conversely, I've only heard 'champ at the bit', and so was pretty confident) I was all ready to take issue with you. My favourite dictionary only gave the 'champ' version. But the second I looked at (Cambridge Advanced Learner's) also gives 'chomp at the bit' as alternative US usage, and so does Merriam-Webster online. So it looks like you're right.
I guess it depends on the dictionary you use. I used dictionary.com.
Post a Comment