Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Commentary on an attempted math problem today by a classmate of mine. Something along the lines of “I didn’t get the answer, but I tried it and wrote all this stuff down. I made a valid effort.” As in failed, but legit.
Significantly fewer hits on Google for “Valid Effort” but a Portland band managed to name themselves so. This one is particularly endearing to me as using the term “valid effort” itself is kind of a valiant effort at coming up with the correct phrase, so valiant that it formed a cute little eggcorn.
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Welcome to the Eggcorn website lostpencil. (great name).
Although “valid effort” could stand on it’s own as a valid construction, I’m in favor of designating it an eggcorn because it most certainly originated with the more widespread “valiant effort.”
I’ve talked about these subtle changes before when evaluating “eloquent” vs. “elegant” speech. Personally, I think they should all be designated as eggcorns because they are image-bearing constructions that were influenced by a more correct (or widely known) predecessor.
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