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Chris -- 2018-04-11

#1 2009-01-19 21:14:20

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

"love portion" for "love potion"

If anyone is justifying this to themselves, the idea may be that a “portion” can be thought of as a sort of dosage. This probably works best for people speaking a non-rhotic dialect. And the possibility of simple misspellings is high (the last two citations below are probably examples): r and t are right next to each other on the keyboard, but “portion” will get past the spell-checker. Examples

Her desire of the spiritualist was for her husband to love her more passionately and detest abusing her. SIMPLE the man seemed to have said, a love portion would do it and Auntie Kate was pleased, happy that her problems would soon be over. She went home with her portion, but little did she know…
http://babygal89eunice.spaces.live.com/ … !346.entry

History: The history of cordials (also called liqueurs) goes all the way back to the 1200s in Europe, when every sort of spice, fruit, flower, and leaves were distilled or infused in alcohol in an attempt to discover cures for diseases, the secret of eternal youth, or a magic portion to turn base metals into gold.
[From the same page as the following example.]

In ancient times, it was thought to inspire love, and a love portion was concocted from it.
http://whatscookingamerica.net/Glossary/C.htm

Ginger—A cousin of the gladiola, the ginger’s pure white blossoms are thought to be a love portion, because a woman wearing the aromatic bloom is so alluring. Egyptian traders originally brought it to Roma as an aphrodisiac.
http://www.globalgourmet.com/food/speci … ntine.html

Titania and Oberon fight. Titania was entertained by the fairies and asks a lullaby. Oberon sprinkles a love portion over her eyes.
http://opera.suite101.com/article.cfm/h … airy_queen

He informed me that he recently discovered a love portion number 9 and wanted to share with me about what happened after the aroma was used in his BH.
http://awesome-swiftlet-farming.blogspo … g-109.html
[From a blog that seems to focus on attracting birds to birdhouses (BHs). I like how “Love Potion #9” from the old Searchers song has now become a sort of generic term for an exceptionally potent potion – there are other pages that use the phrase in this manner, too.]

Are you looking for a love portion?
Do you want to look atractive always?
Then pick up the courage to write us today and solution will be provided to you within 21 days.
http://www.419scam.org/419-devine-brotherhood.htm

In England, John Partridge, Charles I’s physician, suggested a love portion from “Orchis macula” would have strong force to provide sexual desire and excite both sexes.
http://www.delfinadearaujo.com/generali/geneng.htm
[The section heading a few lines above this sentence spells “potions” correctly.]

I’ve been wondering how did with the New York gallery director… did you put a love portion in his tea before you introduced Flo?
http://www.cinemind.com/macleod/let18.html
[This site offers transcriptions of letters by the writer Charlotte Macleod. Interestingly, the site offers reproductions of parts of the original letters, and with this particular one you can see that “love portion” is a mistranscription. But the obviously missing word in the first clause is also there – or really, not there – in the original]

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#2 2009-01-21 11:49:58

Peter Forster
Eggcornista
From: UK
Registered: 2006-09-06
Posts: 1258

Re: "love portion" for "love potion"

If blame, for example, can be apportioned, then love can too. It works well for me and my non-rhotic dialect – a nice find.

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