Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

Missed Step: Using “set foot in” is a step in the right direction. Everyone has language pet peeves: those little things people say that aren't quite right, and that we can't help but correct. For reader Mark Freeman, it's the phrase “step foot in,” as in “I wouldn't step foot in (or into) his messy apartment.” He says: “This is a misuse for ‘set foot in.' ‘Set' is transitive, ‘step' not, which is why we don't say ‘I stepped my foot onto his scrawny neck.'”