[n4r9]

A list of ones I've seen in this thread or know of already:

  * Nonplussed (miffed)

  * Ambivalent (conflicted)

  * Factoid (incorrect statement)

  * Bemused (confused)

  * Peruse (read thoroughly)

  * Travesty (distortion)

  * Transpire (to be revealed)

  * Literally (in actual fact)

There's also "beg the question" which is often used to mean "naturally give rise to the question" but I believe originally meant "assumes the answer which it is trying to prove".

[technothrasher]

The modern colloquial usage of "begs the question" bugs the heck out of me. I try not to get too pedantic about language usage, but that one just sticks in my craw. I think because it's actually quite useful to understand when one is begging the question, and it feels a disservice to water down the phrase.

[n4r9]

To be fair, I can at least see roughly why the meaning changed. The word "beg" is being used in a strange (maybe archaic?) way, and it is also useful to encode the idea of giving rise to a follow-up question. The best outcome might just be for a different phrase to capture the original meaning, something like "assumes the conclusion".

[bigstrat2003]

Don't forget "could care less", which is profoundly stupid as the literal meaning of the words tells one that they are using the phrase wrong.