Words that sound wrong – but aren’t

The plural of beef is… beeves! This is true only for “beef” in the sense of “cow”; If you’re talking about arguments between whiny celebrities on X, then those are beefs.

On top of trying to memorise these irregular plurals, you’ve probably been getting these words wrong the whole time.

The plural of opus is… opera! (So, an opera is more than one opus? Mind blown.) What a crazy irregular plural!

Check out these 20 funny thesaurus jokes word nerds will definitely understand.

The plural of sphinx is… sphinges! (Though “sphinxes” is an acceptable secondary option.)

The irregular plural of biceps is… bicepses! That’s right: “biceps” is a singular word, literally translated from the Latin for “two-headed” (each of your biceps connects to the upper arm via two heads, one short and one long.)

Look out for these everyday idioms you’re getting wrong. 

The plural of cul-de-sac is… culs-de-sac. In French, cul-de-sac literally translates to “bottom of a sack.” So, weirdly, the plural culs-de-sac becomes “Bottoms of a sack.” (That sack’s got back!)

Don’t miss these amusing stories behind common expressions. 

The plural, gender neutral form of nieces and nephews is… niblings! Yes, it was only coined in 1951 – all the more reason to make sure it doesn’t disappear!

Always remember these apostrophe rules to idiot-proof your grammar.

The irregular plural of attorney general is… attorneys general! Similarly, see also: postmasters general, mothers-in-law, and coups d’etat.

The plural of octopus is… octopuses! No – NOT octopi. Here’s the deal: “Octopi” is how you would make the word plural in Latin; unfortunately, “octopus” is not a Latin word – it’s Greek. The Greek way to make octopus plural is “Octopodes.” So, why don’t we say that? Because, linguists say, when you add a word to the English lexicon, you give all forms of the word an English inflection. So, octopus becomes octopuses. Silly as it sounds, stick with that.

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The plural of lasagna is… lasagne! It refers to the large, flat pasta as well as the dish itself; technically, you should be ordering the lasagne from your favourite Italian restaurant.

The plural of Prius is… Prii! Toyota officially announced this new word after a 2011 vote of more than 1.8 million people. Prii trounced runners-up (another weird plural) including Priuses, Prium, and Prien.

Here are 20 words that are their own opposites!