rite » right

Chiefly in:   right of passage , last rights

Classification: English

Spotted in the wild:

  • Yup, today I went through the real right of passage of a homeowner. I mowed my lawn, and the the suckage was high. (link)
  • Tattoo as Right of Passage into Adulthood (about.com, article title)
  • The latest and most serious report comes from CNN indicating that a Vatican source has revealed that Pope John Paul II received last rites Thursday night. (lifesite.net, March 31, 2005)
  • CNN quoted an unnamed Vatican official who described the situation as serious and said the Pope had received the last rights or the sacrament of the sick, which is not necessarily an indication that John Paul is in any immediate danger of dying. (KWTX.com)

Analyzed or reported by:

Claiming new _rights_ comes with undergoing a _rite_ of passage.

Update, 11 April, 2005: Commenter Dorothy pointed out the expression “last rights”, which indeed gets a quite a few search engine hits. However, by now the error has been corrected in articles on CNN.com, Fox News and ABC.net Australia. The CNN report, which initially contained the eggcorn, seems to have been the source for a number of the other incorrect spellings in the online press.

| link | entered by Chris Waigl, 2004/12/08 |

Commentaries

  1. 1

    Commentary by Hubert , 2006/09/06 at 10:32 am

    “Joining facebook used to be a right of passage; when you got your e-mail address from your new college, you joined.” - good example from www.middlesell.com/stopit…

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