Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
You are not logged in.
Registrations are currently closed because of a technical problem. Please send email to
The forum administrator reserves the right to request users to plausibly demonstrate that they are real people with an interest in the topic of eggcorns. Otherwise they may be removed with no further justification. Likewise, accounts that have not been used for posting may be removed.
Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
torrent of abuse – 69,700 ghits
tirade of abuse – 27,700 ghits
tyrant of abuse – 5 ghits
I heard this one in the wild today and found some small confirmation on google. The sense is quite clear; those who deliver torrents of abuse are behaving in a tyrannical fashion.
Blue DustT-Mobile had a tyrant of abuse levelled at them through the ether in the square that day. But since I can only swear in England and German I doubt they got …
www.bluedust.com/fosdem2006/ – 15k – Cached – Similar pages
A walk in the park with bully boys & Northern Inuit with picA tyrant of abuse followed ). Im a gobby cow at the best of times so shouted over them (3). They came out of the playground and got onto bikes and tried to …
www.dogsey.com/showthread.php?t=42512 – 61k – Cached – Similar pages
Forums – A sad observationAre you sure? or are you just convincing yourself. Sorry and yes I expect a tyrant of abuse now but well said my piece now pay the price. ...
www.parentscentre.gov.uk/forum/messagev … adid=21527 – 19k – Cached – Similar pages
Manchester Evening News – NewsOur soldiers in Iraq and Afghan are subjected daily to a tyrant of abuse but still remain professional. You try keeping your cool when someone is bad …
www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/co … _id=214837 – Similar pages
Planet Cricket Forums – 2gb Batpackflint_off. School Boy Cricketer. Join Date : Aug 2005. Posts : 21 vCash : 500. ok i will get a tyrant of abuse but how do you install this ? ...
www.planetcricket.net/forums/showthread.php?t=13821 – 123k
Just as an aside, I didn’t ‘correct’ the above eggcorner because it may have caused embarrassment or even humiliation but occasionally I do so if I feel an eggcorner may subsequently make a fool of themselves in more critical, less sensitive social encounters. Should there be a protocol for this sort of thing? We’re not anthropologists wary of disturbing some delicate cultural balance but nor do we wish to kill the goose who may be laying golden eggcorns. I’d be grateful for some feedback…
Last edited by Peter Forster (2006-11-07 01:43:13)
Offline
I’m not sure I have anything really deep to say about the etiquette of eggcornology. But personally, when I spot an eggcorn in conversation, I tend just to make a mental note of it while nodding appreciatively. I think I may have said something a few times when I worried that my interlocutor would be ridiculed if they repeated the eggcorn to someone less aware of how common this type of stuff is.
And usually I don’t even note here on the forum that I was led to look for an eggcorn because of a conversation with a friend or acquaintance. Since I post under my own name, I don’t want people who know me to start thinking that their verbal faux pas will be broadcast —even anonymously—to the whole world. Or even just to Jorkel, Peter and fpberger.
And, for the same reason, I don’t mention that I first spotted an eggcorn in a student essay if the author is still one of my own students.
—Pat
Offline