The French-born TV star, 52, has teamed withbiscuit brand LU to uncover the most misleading names and phrases in the English language and found out that more than 10% are perplexed by terms such as gravy boat, red herring and wisdom teeth,
The former 'I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out Of Here!' contestant has also found that there LU's new cookie could cause some confusion because even though it is named 'Le Petit', is in in fact anything but the French word for small.
He said: "It’s been great fun finding the unique names, terms and phrases that often cause confusion in the English language - and it also gives context to why the new LU biscuit, Le Petit Cookie is called what it is. With its big chunks of rich chocolate and bold crunchy texture, the Le Petit Cookie is ‘petit’ by name, but not by nature! You know, English isn’t my first language, so it’s been even more fun to get to the bottom of it all.
The 'First Dates' star also jokingly petitioned for the London landmark of Piccadilly Circus to be stripped of its name because it is demonstrably not a big top.
He said: "I’m now on a mission to turn the peculiarly named Piccadilly Circus into ‘Normal English Square’ – makes much more sense!"
Kelly Lawrence, Brand Manager at LU comments “Le Petit Cookie has been made with LU’s signature baking love, passion and generous use of ingredients. So, despite its name, we know there’s nothing ‘petit’ about the new Le Petit Cookie. But, given all the other quirks and phrases out there, we know it’s joining a lot of other things with somewhat perplexing names that people will come to understand.”
The Top 10 perplexing naming conventions according to Brits:
Tennis bracelet (32%)
Herringbone (17%)
Koala bear (16%)
Gravy boat (13%)
Earwig (12%)
Red Herring (12%)
Wisdom Teeth (11%)
Pencil lead (11%)
Cat Burglar (10%)
Daddy Longlegs (10%)
The Top 10 perplexing phrases according to Brits:
A dime a dozen (24%)
Raining cats and dogs (16%)
Cat got your tongue (14%)
Bite the bullet (12%)
Easy as pie (12%)
Beat around the bush (9%)
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch (9%)
A penny for your thoughts (7%)
Barking up the wrong tree (7%)
Let the cat out of the bag (7%)
