English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)
S’s to Avoid
She just came back ~out of the blues~ to claim her rights (nonstandard).
She just came back *out of the blue* to claim her rights (standard).
If something happens out of the blue, it happens unexpectedly.
That girl is ~the apple of her eyes~ (nonstandard).
That girl is the *apple of her eye* (standard).
If you say that someone is the apple of your eye, you mean that they are very important to you and you are extremely fond of them.
Nothing gets missing under the ~eagle eyes~ of his boss (nonstandard).
Nothing gets missing under the *eagle eye* of his boss (standard).
If you talk about a person’s eagle eye, you mean that they are watching someone or something carefully or are very good at noticing things.
The lady is ~pulling his legs~ (nonstandard).
The lady is *pulling his leg* (standard).
If you are pulling someone’s leg, you are teasing them by telling them something shocking or worrying as a joke.
GAB
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