Talk:Eggcorn

Changes come slowly; don't chomp on the bit!

Somebody recently added "chomp on the bit" as an eggcorn for "champ on the bit". It was reverted, and I heartily agree. An eggcorn typically adds a bit of information, or humor, or both to the meaning of the original. The phrase "chomp on the bit", as a variation of "champ on the bit", does neither. It is a result of a shift in English. The term "champ" meaning "to bit or chew noisily" has become antiquated and rarely used, and has been replaced by "chomp". See [1] for more. Paulmlieberman (talk) 13:59, 3 October 2016 (UTC)

An eggcorn I encountered in the diaries of the mass-murderer Fred West: "car of van" for "caravan". Nuttyskin (talk) 05:02, 4 April 2017 (UTC) Nuttyskin (talk) 05:02, 4 April 2017 (UTC)

Eggcorn vs. Mondegreen

The article seems to imply that eggcorns are different from mondegreens in some important but unstated way. As far as I can tell they are different words for the same phenomenon, which is fine. Is there any real well sourced linguistic distinction or can we just say that both Geoffrey Pullum and Sylvia Wright both independently noticed the phenomenon and each gave it a different name? Nolandda (talk) 22:27, 31 May 2017 (UTC)

Yes, there is a difference. An eggcorn uses words that sound similar (and have not, as with mondegreens, been misheard) to words or phrases, and have a meaning that is similar to the original term. Example: old-timer's disease for Alzheimer's Disease. A mondegreen, such as wrapped up like a douche, has nothing to do with the original revved up like a deuce. Paulmlieberman (talk) 14:03, 1 June 2017 (UTC)

However, like mondegreens, an eggcorn often arises when a word or expression has been communicated verbally. It may then pass into common currency in a written medium, typically the Internet. Witness all of the sudden and a whole nother. Nuttyskin (talk) 15:16, 6 July 2017 (UTC)

These are all interesting hypotheses about the distinction between the terms. Is there any academic or other authority we can reference to clarify the true difference (assuming one exists). Nolandda (talk) 18:28, 24 August 2017 (UTC)

One place to start might be here, including LanguageLog link. - phi (talk) 18:16, 4 September 2017 (UTC)

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Proposed example

"A great ideal" in place of "a great idea". I can't find a source, but people tend to say this where I'm from and it fits the definition of an eggcorn. Human-potato hybrid (talk) 16:32, 2 August 2017 (UTC)

• bone apple tea instead of bon appétit

Added to the article by User:Robdawg344 04:06, 7 May 2018‎. Moved to talk page by Cnilep (talk) 01:19, 8 May 2018 (UTC)

I support the addition of 'Bone apple tea' as it is particularly famous. Jamgoodman (talk) 19:13, 31 July 2019 (UTC)

• pre-madonna instead of prima donna

Added to the article 21:31, 20 July 2018‎ by User:Hferlauto. Moved to talk page by Cnilep (talk) 23:41, 20 July 2018 (UTC)

Proposed examples

• damp squib → damp squid (as seen on The IT Crowd) — Preceding unsigned comment added by HammurabisTurnips (talk • contribs) 15:59, 9 October 2019 (UTC)
• weekday → work day (because one works on weekdays)
• life jacket → light jacket (because they have to be light in order to float on water)
• holiday → holy day (because many holidays are based on religion) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.235.102.246 (talk) 14:23, 14 December 2018 (UTC)
• "Very-close veins" for "varicose veins" (i.e. veins close to the surface of the skin) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Paulmmn (talk • contribs) 23:25, 23 January 2019 (UTC)
• "Hollow deck" for "holodeck", which is a great eggcorn given that there is truly nothing in one! Example from Reddit. Discussion of "hollow deck" on an eggcorn forum (!). Example use (unknown if genuine mistake or ironic) in a quiz. Many more examples can be found via search engine. --X883 (talk) 20:13, 14 February 2019 (UTC)
• "Run the gambit" for "run the gamut".
• "Welsh rarebit" is an old eggcorn for "Welsh rabbit", which was apparently an ethnic sneer.
• "Forlorn hope" for the Dutch expression "verloren hoop".
• "Lay" (transitive) in all its forms for "lie" (intransitive) -- very common now.
• "Load" for "lade", a very ancient eggcorn.
• "[He] has a swelter of issues himself" for "welter".
• "Settling torch" for "Acetylene Torch". — Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.188.51.96 (talk) 00:43, 2 November 2019 (UTC)

• abject lesson (object lesson)
• all and all (all in all)
• another thing coming (another think coming)
• beckon call (beck and call)
• biting my time (biding my time)
• bold-face lie (bald-face lie)
• chomp at the bit (champ at the bit)
• day in age (day and age)
• deep-seeded (deep-seated)
• doggy-dog world (dog-eat-dog world)
• jerry-rigged (jury-rigged)
• pass mustard (pass muster)
• Old-Timers' Disease (Alzheimer's Disease)
• one in the same (one and the same)
• take it for granite (take it for granted)
• towing the line (toeing the line)
• worse comes to worse (worse comes to worst) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 73.66.142.147 (talk) 23:16, 19 September 2019 (UTC)

Htroberts (talk) 17:27, 17 July 2019 (UTC)

I support the addition of "Welsh rarebit" and "doggy-dog world" but few other examples you've listed are very common. Jamgoodman (talk) 19:15, 31 July 2019 (UTC)

I would like to see at least "doggy-dog world" be included. It's very common and exemplifies the idea very well, imho. It's also the title of a Snoop Dogg single: Doggy_Dogg_World. Here's a grammarist.com entry on it: https://grammarist.com/eggcorns/doggy-dog-dog-eat-dog/. If there are no objections I would add it.Chrisma0 (talk) 19:10, 23 July 2020 (UTC)

Proposed additions November 2019

Out of the previous list, some don't really seem like eggcorns, or likely mistakes, but I've definitely seen "beckon call" in print multiple times. Recommend adding it.

I'd also like to suggest adding "Phoenician blinds" for "Venetian blinds". I know perfectly well that they're "Venetian", but for some reason I sometimes hear "Phoenician" when people mention them—and it turns out that people have been making that mistake since at least 1893: here, in the Ohio Educational Monthly, vol. XLII, Samuel Findley, Akron, Ohio, and collected in Marshall Brown's Bulls and Blunders, Lakeside Press, Chicago (1893), repeated in Humour of Bulls and Blunders, University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts (1906), among others; here it is in Tom Robbins' novel, Skinny Legs and All, Bantam (1990), and Richard Lederer's The Revenge of Anguished English, Macmillan (2007). P Aculeius (talk) 23:12, 18 November 2019 (UTC)

Thanks P Aculeius, but both examples sound like regular malapropisms rather than eggcorns. Please see Talk:Eggcorn/Archive_4#Proposal_to_radically_reduce_the_number_of_examples for why it's best if we stick with clear, unambiguous examples. Adrian J. Hunter^{(talk•contribs)} 23:52, 18 November 2019 (UTC)

According to this article, a malapropism differs from an eggcorn in that it creates a nonsensical phrase, while an eggcorn exhibits creativity, logic, or ignorance... how is either of the suggestions nonsensical? "Beckon" is derived from the same root as "beck", and has a similar meaning, so it makes perfect sense as a substitution for the similar-sounding "beck and" in the phrase "beck and call", although it arises from ignorance of the idiom. It's a textbook example of an eggcorn. Similarly, the phrase "Phoenician blinds" isn't nonsensical; it's the substitution of one demonym for another arising from ignorance, but it makes just as much sense—it's simply unidiomatic. They're certainly better examples than "mating name" or "spurt of the moment", since "maiden" and "spur" are familiar words in everyday use, and much less likely to confuse people than "beck" or the very different cultures of Venice and Phoenicia—whose descriptive adjectives just happen to sound very much alike. And while "preying mantis" makes a lot of sense, it's as likely to arise as a spelling mistake as from a misunderstanding between whether the mantis is named for its posture or its behaviour. If you want "clear and unambiguous" examples, these are the ones you want. P Aculeius (talk) 00:44, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

The two following examples were added by User:McRousers on 30 November 2019, and removed by User:Cnilep on 2 December.

• baited breath instead of bated breath
• off one's own back instead of off one's own bat

Note that "baited breath" appears more than once in the talk archives; there has never been consensus to add it. Cnilep (talk) 08:18, 2 December 2019 (UTC)

True examples of eggcorns

My daughter once worked with a man who used lots of eggcorns. (And had no idea they were incorrect) Such as: Go through something with a fine toothcomb He didn't batter an eyelid Well have to batter down the hatches They were calm and collective about the situation — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.24.62.92 (talk) 08:29, 1 March 2020 (UTC)

Other Examples of Eggcorns?

1. Nip it in the butt (bud) - since there are fewer people growing plants 2. Go for the juggler (jugular) - juggler works best when those you are targeting are clowns! 3. Wet your appetite (whet) - hopefully with a nice drink :) --Althecomputergal (talk) 15:28, 16 June 2020 (UTC)

Actually, none of these are eggcorns. They fail the test "The new phrase introduces a meaning that is different from the original but plausible in the same context". Paulmlieberman (talk) 02:41, 17 June 2020 (UTC)