AI-GENERATED PHRASEOLOGY

 

I prompted ChatGPT to find synonyms for the idiom "to put the cart before the horse" and, no sooner said than done, I got back several, of which I chose three:

Building the second floor before the foundation

Starting at the top of the ladder

Putting the roof before the walls are built

I preferred the first because it parallels the Spanish "empezar la casa por el tejado". Then I searched for citations supporting the meaning and usage but to no avail. I went back to Chat GPT only to be told bluntly that this AI had made up the expression and advised me to feel free to use it as my own. As an anecdote, and to prove a point, I have added the three "idioms" to my Phraseological Dictionary to show that now AI and social media on the internet are changing language, and speakers no longer hold the reins of language evolution as in the past. AI and Social Media have a crucial say in how humans use and treat language today.