As our culture shifts away from educating children in a literary canon (books expected to be read by every educated person), certain common expressions that would have been seen in print are passed on orally, out of a context that might clarify their meaning.
As a result, some of these expressions are misheard. Then, when a speaker has occasion to write them, they take on different spellings and even different meanings.
Here are a few of the most common.
beg the question
cut the mustard
down the pike
first come, first served
free rein
old-fashioned
