Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
I regularly come across emails using “soonest possible” instead of “as soon as possible”. For instance, “Please get back to us soonest possible”. Some google counts.
reply soonest possible -> 1190
revert soonest possible -> 151
respond soonest possible -> 53
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I’m torn on this one. On the one hand it picks up on many of the same sounds as the original. On the other hand it sounds like elliptical speech of “at your soonest possible opportunity”—akin to “at your earliest convenience.” The precarious grammar tips it toward eggcorn for me.
Last edited by jorkel (2007-11-01 10:54:46)
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I don’t think this is an eggcorn. “soonest” for “as soon as possible” was standard “telegraphese,” a way of abbreviating that was usual when Western Union charged by the word. There are obvious similarities between “telegraphese” and “e-speak,” although the constraint in the latter is brevity per se rather than word count.
A famous telegraphese story has a Hollywood publicity guy, missing a fact for his story, cabling Cary Grant: “How old Cary Grant?” Cary replied “Old Gary Grant fine. How you?”
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