Wednesday 24 August 2016

Ram-packed

In the midst of the war of words over Jeremy Corbyn's travelling sit-in, a writer queried the candidate's use of the term "ram-packed". My guess is that he did what so many of us do when speaking off the cuff: mixed up two phrases. In this case, it was "rammed" (becoming a common synonym for "crowded") and "jam-packed".

I have noticed another confusion of two sayings which has now established itself: "by far and away", combining the traditional "by far" and "far and away".

While I am in pedantic mode, Richard Branson should be described as co-owner of Virgin Trains, not the owner.


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