介绍:
Get the wrong end of the stick
When Bill became good friends with John's girlfriend he got the wrong end of the stick.
When David try to give Jim advise on how to do his job better he got the wrong end of the stick and thought he was making the statement that he was bad at his job.
I got the wrong end of the stick when the boss asked me to see him in his office, I thought he was going to fire me but he actually wanted to give me a raise.
Meaning: To miss interpret something
Etymology: The "stick" refers to a printer's stick when typeset were physical letters. A novice would often fill the printer stick in the wrong order, in which case, the print would not be as expected, e.g. "print" would appear as 'tnirp', hence, grabbing the wrong end of the stick.
A good hiding
Back when my parents were in school, if they were naughty the teacher would give them a good hiding.
Bryans parents were very strict on him, once in a while they would give him a good hiding.
Tim gave bob a good hiding for trying to kiss his girlfriend.
Meaning: To beat someone
Etymology: Derrived from the hide meaning someone backside, ie beating their backside.
Butter someone up
Sarah tried to butter her boss up in order to get a promotion.
Tina's parents really liked her boyfriend because he knows how to butter them up.
Jenny spent the whole week buttering her parents up so they would pay for her prom dress.
Meaning: Saying nice things to get into someone to like you
Etymology: Derived from butter being both soft and sweet
