Word Nerd Posted April 3, 2013 Share Posted April 3, 2013 Do you say "set foot" or "step foot" when you mean you never want to go into a particular place again? Which do you hear or read more often? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Never have heard "step foot". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Never have heard "step foot". Nor have I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet Crown Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Google Fight gives 54,700 hits for "never set foot in" and 10,900 for "never step foot in." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Definitely "set foot". "Step foot" sounds awkward to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 I've always said "set foot" but have been hearing and seeing "step foot" more often lately, especially online (including here). Maybe it's not as common as I thought. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PachiSusan Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Step foot. Born and raised in Southern California, for reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
QueenCat Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I've never heard "step foot". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PachiSusan Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I've never heard "step foot". Apparently I'm the only one who has so far! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Here is somebody else's poll about the same question, posed in 2010. http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=573089 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandelion Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Here's an interesting article on "set foot in" vs. "step foot in" from the Columbia Journalism Review. Per the article "set foot in" is the correct use of the phrase. An excerpt: "Here’s another way to look at it: When you walk, you step. Each time you step, you set your foot down. When you walk into a place, you step into it; you set foot into it. “Step†is pure action; “set†implies deliberation." Out of curiosity, I looked up the phrases in an online idiom dictionary. Only "set foot in" was listed - there was no listing for "step foot in". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest submarines Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 "Step foot" doesn't really make any sense. I also don't think it is actually an idiom, or at least not the way I understand what idioms are. I think it is an expression. Idiom: Noun A group of words established by usage as having a meaning not deducible from those of the individual words (e.g., raining cats and... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PachiSusan Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Set to me is "Set something down". If you're walking into a place, you are STEPPING into the place. I find SET completely out of place and wrong. However, looks like I'm only one of the 2.2% though - so ignore me. LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orthodox6 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Set to me is "Set something down". If you're walking into a place, you are STEPPING into the place. I find SET completely out of place and wrong. However, looks like I'm only one of the 2.2% though - so ignore me. LOL Don't lose sleep over it! We set down a foot. OR We set a foot on the floor. (or onto the whatever) We step with a foot. "I'll never step with my foot in that place again!" is the only way the Grammar Police will let me pass. OR "I'll never set [my] foot in that place again!" (It is unlikely that I'm going to set someone else's foot in the room.) (So if I refuse to step with my foot, what AM I willing to step with in that place?!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PachiSusan Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Don't lose sleep over it! We set down a foot. OR We set a foot on the floor. (or onto the whatever) We step with a foot. "I'll never step with my foot in that place again!" is the only way the Grammar Police will let me pass. (So if I refuse to step with my foot, what AM I willing to step with in that place?!) Don't worry - I won't. I got up to early. I'm already wanting to go to bed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freeindeed Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I've only heard and said "set foot." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Now don't hate me, but before I read the comments, I thought, " 'step foot' sounds like something my hillbilly SIL would say." She also likes terms such as "conversating," which she seems to think is a sophisticated version of "chatting." Ahem. I am going to Hell for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elinor Everywhere Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I've heard it both ways. Lived half my life in OH and half my life in SoCal/west. Now I'm wondering which place I learned which expression! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellie Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 "Step foot" sounds to me as if the people who are saying it misunderstood it in the first place, the way people say "one in the same" instead of "one and the same." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poiema Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I've heard both, but I think "step foot" is more common 'round here. They both sound right to me, though "set foot" makes more sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melissa in Australia Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 set foot is the expression used here. step foot sounds like some sort of dance maneuver or something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TravelingChris Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I have never heard step foot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I use set foot and I am from the east coast. I have lived several places and not heard step foot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cinder Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 I have also never heard the term "step foot." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris in VA Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Oh no! Now I'm confusing myself. I put set foot, but now step foot seems right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted April 4, 2013 Author Share Posted April 4, 2013 I also don't think it is actually an idiom, or at least not the way I understand what idioms are. I think it is an expression. The phrase is listed in several dictionaries of idioms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MFA323 Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 "Step" isn't a transitive verb, so you cannot step foot somewhere. I imagine "step foot" is a corruption of "set foot" rather than a regional variation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KarenNC Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Heard and used both, don't know which I use most commonly. Spent my entire life in NC, if that makes a difference in this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JFSinIL Posted April 4, 2013 Share Posted April 4, 2013 Set foot. Born and raised in Southern California, too, for reference :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ElizaG Posted April 5, 2013 Share Posted April 5, 2013 "Step foot" sounds to me as if the people who are saying it misunderstood it in the first place, the way people say "one in the same" instead of "one and the same." In case anyone cares, those sorts of mistakes are sometimes called "eggcorns." :) And "step foot" sounds like one of those to me, too -- though apparently there's some debate about it: The Eggcorn Database >> step foot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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