Thanks for the feedback, amelia7! Below are my comments to your evaluation of the corrected idiomatic expressions:
“Noynoy won by a landslide” should be “Nonoy won in a landslide.”
Either form is OK. Statistically, though, based on usage incidence as reported by Google, “won by a landslide” wins by a landslide with about 4,320,000 results against “won in a landslide” with 3,150,000 results.
“The flight was rough because we passed a thunderstorm” should be “The flight was rough because we passed through a thunderstorm.”
“Passed through a thunderstorm”—your version—is evidently the more popular and more idiomatic usage. Google yields only a poor 154 results for “passed a thunderstorm” against 20,700 for “passed through a thunderstorm.”
“He is a chip of the old block” should be “He is a chip off the old block.”
You’re absolutely right! The missing second “f” in my “of” is a proofreading error.
“Give him the benefit of a doubt” should be “Give him the benefit of the doubt”
Google yields 8,120,000 results for “benefit of a doubt” against 1,630,000 for your version, “benefit of the doubt,” so “benefit of a doubt” is obviously the more popular idiomatic usage.
“You’re barking at the wrong tree” should be “You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
You’re correct, the truly correct idiom is “barking up the wrong tree,” which has an overwhelming 23,400,000 results in Google; “barking at the wrong tree” appears to also have ample usage, though, with 664,000 results.
“For all intents and purposes” should be “To all intents and purposes.”
The two are both OK and almost even in usage incidence. Google has 8,910,000 results for “for all intents and purposes” and about 6,860,000 results for “to all intents and purposes.”
“Sorry, I am over the weather this morning” should be Sorry, “I am under the weather this morning.”
You’re absolutely right! The phrase “over the weather” is my mistake; it isn’t the proper idiom. It should be, as you say, “under the weather.”
