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Chris -- 2018-04-11

#1 2007-08-01 14:06:24

prof_shorthair
Member
Registered: 2007-03-20
Posts: 2

"on site" for "on sight"

This makes sense given the emphasis on location in this context:

“When it’s all over, Wiley plans to go somewhere far away, where police won’t recognize him on site” (from “End of the Road for Armless Driver,” AP, 1 August 07)

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/us/AP-A … river.html

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#2 2007-08-01 22:02:13

jorkel
Eggcornista
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 1456

Re: "on site" for "on sight"

For the longest time I’ve neglected posting a similar eggcorn…

Google hits on Aug 1, 2007
766,000 “sight unseen” – idiom
73,600 “site unseen” – eggcorn

When you think about it, a “site” might often be thought of as a “sight,” so there seems to be a great deal of sense in either construction.

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#3 2007-08-07 19:05:02

TootsNYC
Eggcornista
Registered: 2007-06-19
Posts: 263

Re: "on site" for "on sight"

I have always loved the use of “sight,” and “cite” for the “site” in “Web site.”

You look at those pages on the Web site, so of course they are “sights.”

You find stuff written there for you to refer back to, so of course they are “cites” (they are citing stuff).

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#4 2007-08-08 00:55:39

patschwieterman
Administrator
From: California
Registered: 2005-10-25
Posts: 1680

Re: "on site" for "on sight"

One of the things I like about the Eggcorns Forum is that you’ll get people saying, “I’ve always loved this misspelling!” It’s such a nice antidote to all those sites where the attitude seems to be that anyone who commits a usage error should be tarred and feathered and led in shame through the town square.

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#5 2007-08-08 11:48:54

TootsNYC
Eggcornista
Registered: 2007-06-19
Posts: 263

Re: "on site" for "on sight"

yes! I said it on another post, sometimes I think the eggcorn is BETTER, more inventive, more expressive, exhibits a healthier attitude.

I’m so glad to have found the Eggcorns Forum because it’s neat to find other people who have that same affectionate attitude toward how the language works, and how people think.

We’re starting from the assumption that there’s a REASON they think this is the right word, and we’re trying to figure out what it is.

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