barely related, but it's funny to me how in anglosaxon countries you use the locution "quid pro quo", while here in italy we use "do ut des" to mean "a favor for a favor".
And that "qui pro quo" - in italy - means just a misunderstanding.
It's one of the funniest false friends that I've encountered while studying English
Yeah, quid pro quo literally means "one thing for another thing". The ambiguity of the "for" led to divergent evolutions.
The "pro" (for) can be either mean "instead of", "in the place of" (One thing in the place of another thing). This is where the interpretation currently used in Italy and possibly other places settled on.
But "pro" (for) also means "for the benefit of" and that's the interpretation that caught on in the Anglosphere.
I liked that when a major person in Italian organized crime was arrested, US newspapers called him a “capo dei capi” while Italian newspapers called him a “boss dei boss”.
Readit News
[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malapropism [2]: https://old.reddit.com/r/BoneAppleTea.
That is, I bet if we asked the speaker to write it down, he would write "quid pro quo", no birds to be seen.
Dead Comment
And that "qui pro quo" - in italy - means just a misunderstanding.
It's one of the funniest false friends that I've encountered while studying English
The "pro" (for) can be either mean "instead of", "in the place of" (One thing in the place of another thing). This is where the interpretation currently used in Italy and possibly other places settled on.
But "pro" (for) also means "for the benefit of" and that's the interpretation that caught on in the Anglosphere.
For example, here’s a book using that title
https://m.libreriauniversitaria.it/amp/product/BIT/978887928...
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Praat
Do they rhyme? Yes. No one's arguing that.
As someone who is a linguist who studies human speech, I am telling you, specifically, in science, no one says "crow" instead of "pro".
https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/people/unidan
Dead Comment
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eggcorn
When passively asked "what's going on?", her reply: 'oh, much to do about nothing!'