Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Because everyone knows “curry” is a noun, not a verb.
“Carry favor” gets some false positives, but “carry favor with” gets 456 Google hits, and “carry favour with” 821, which look pretty genuine.
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We’ve had a couple o posts on “curry flavor:”
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=1631
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2641
This is the first mention, I think, of “carry favor.” Seems like it might be an eggcorn.
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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I can’t find it listed as a standard variant in any dictionary, but people have been making
this particular reshaping for a while.
Here it is in a 1799 book at Google Books.
This 1912 New York Times article uses it, oddly enough, in a story about horse-racing.
I would have thought the word “curry” would be better known in that context.
Finally, here’s another Google Books one, from a 2003 book.
So it’s made its way into print a number of times, and I guess some copyeditors see nothing wrong with it.
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“Courage favor†for “curry favor†may also be possible. I can’t find an example on the web, though, that isn’t in a transcript. The expanded “encourage favour,†however, does serve as an occasional replacement for “curry favor.â€
Magazine interview with Sinéad O’Connor: “I can’t start living my life for the media or to encourage favor with everybody.â€
Game instructions: “You may build a large army and encourage favor with the generals by paying them well (perhaps even the occasional bri…err… bonus).â€
Web fiction: “ I have transcended the need for wealth and power by donating my savings to the Mahariji’s trust and don’t feel the need to encourage favour with my superiors.â€
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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