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
One meaning of “duck” is to move the head or body suddenly (so as to dodge an oncoming hazard). “Dunk” tends to capture the general downward motion of “duck” except that it requires the submersion in a fluid. So, rather than list this alteration as an eggcorn, I decided to enter it as a slip/reshaping… possibly even a malapropism.
Googling of various terms like “dunk down” and “dunk your head” failed to locate any misuses of the term. I guess I really only have a recollection from childhood of someone shouting out “dunk!” when a sports projectile was heading our way. I thought it was a cute misusage that warranted sharing.
I suppose the reverse could be present eggcorn opportunities, but I haven’t had the chance to locate any examples of that just yet.
Last edited by jorkel (2008-04-16 16:09:10)
Offline
By the way… people call “bobbing for apples” by other names:
1560 “ducking for apples”
302 “dunking for apples”
I’ve heard both “ducking” and “dunking” before, so it would be interesting to get a little history on that if someone wants to dig for it.
Last edited by jorkel (2008-04-16 16:14:37)
Offline
I can’t help with the history of ducking and dunking, Joe, but we called this activity “dookin’ for apples”. I never associated ‘dook’ with the verb ‘duck’ or the noun. “Dookin’”(nobody would sound the ‘ing’) can be used in other ways but the idea of immersion in water is essential.
119 “dooking for apples”
104 “dookin’ for apples”
Offline
I can’t offer any history of apple-bobbing, either, but I did a fast books.google.com search. The first reliable hit for “dunking for apples” doesn’t appear till the 1960s, but “ducking for apples” was already showing up by the 1830s.
“Dookin” is a Scots term related to English “ducking,” and I wonder whether the practice started in Scotland. The few brief histories of the practice that I’ve been able to find don’t seem to think so.
When I was a kid, we generally called it “bobbing for apples.” But the second option was “dunking for apples.” “Ducking” is clearly the original, but it sounds odd to me. I guess “dunking” seems more natural to me because it’s more obviously associated with immersion.
As a final aside, I went to Wikipedia to see if they knew anything reliable about apple-bobbing. Nope, not really. But they had a number of surprising definitions for “dooking.” My favorite:
The chuckling noise ferrets make when happy or excited. It is often heard in conjunction with the weasel war dance
Last edited by patschwieterman (2008-04-18 02:46:58)
Offline