pique » peak
Spotted in the wild:
- Financing The American Dream
Do You Have What Investors Are Looking For? Find Out How To Peak Their Interests (link) - I think those in charge of the computer aided curriculum should spend some time hanging out with high school or college level students to find out what peaked their interest in computers at an earlier age. (link)
- Short Stories Peak Children’s Interest in Reading Newspapers (Newspaper Association of America)
- NANCE HAXTON: Is there a danger that despite our generosity that Australians may forget and move on?
TIM COSTELLO: Yes there is, and you would expect there to be a peaking of interest, of media attention, of compassion. (The Delphos Herald, OH, February 14, 2005)
Analyzed or reported by:
- Arnold Zwicky at Language Log (On the eggcorn beet)
The substitution pique>peak is very common. It also makes much sense, once the verb peak is equipped with a causative sense and allowed to take a second argument (an object complement), just like walk in “walk the dog” or grow in “grow potatoes”.
1
Commentary by mr_walker , 2005/03/06 at 1:58 am
i’m not sure that the comment by tim costello should be included here. i remember the soundbite, and it was in reference to waning support for tsunami survivors in asia - therefore it’s fair to say that interest in their plight had “peaked.”
2
Commentary by Ken Lakritz , 2005/03/20 at 7:29 pm
slightly less common, but also well represented in a Google search is the substitution of ‘peek’ for ‘pique.’ Apparently, having your interest ‘peeked’ motivates you to take a furtive glance at the object of that interest.
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Commentary by Vick , 2006/06/21 at 4:03 am
I agree, it seems Costello meant that by “peaking,” he meant reaching a peak, or being higher than ever before.
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Commentary by c3scribe , 2006/08/23 at 10:31 pm
I see a real epidemic (sorry, no specific examples at this time) of “sneaking a peak,” substituting for “peek,” on the web and in printed matter. Maybe this comment belongs under a different heading, but I didn’t find any mentions when Googling here for “peak” and “peek.”