Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
That’s a very curious find, blandford.
I’m not exactly sure what I’d call “motor board.” The one thing it does have in common with most eggcorns is the substitution of a less familiar word (mortar) with a more familiar word (motor), but clearly there is no legitimate imagery for “motor” or “motor board” that would allow us to classify the usage as an eggcorn—as you clearly point out.
I also have absolutely no idea whether a “motor board” is a real thing, so I’m hesitant to even call the usage a malapropism. Most malapropisms involves the substitution of a real word (or phrase) that is not understood by the utterer. (If I’m wrong about this “realness” requirement for a malapropism, would someone please let me know?) Since a “motor board” is probably not a real thing in it’s own right, I’d probably just call the usage a reshaping.
Last edited by jorkel (2007-05-09 14:26:02)
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