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Chris -- 2018-04-11

#1 2009-03-03 19:15:23

burred
Eggcornista
From: Montreal
Registered: 2008-03-17
Posts: 1112

"shape of form"

“Shape of form” gets 289,000 ughits, many of which are based on a reshaping of the form of “any way, shape or form”. “Way shape of form” gets 15,400 ughits. Is it more prevalent where “or” is pronounced something like “uh” (to my ear)? Many instances are probably typos, but others seem genuine. If so, it makes a curious reshaping if not an eggcorn.

God has made it clear to me that atheists are not to be persecuted in any shape of form. (http://www.freeratio.org/showthread.php?p=5825459)

My point is that people yelling … about Kyoto in any way shape of form is silly. (http://www.qando.net/details.aspx?Entry=8438)

I know it’s unlikely, but do some consider a “way shape of form” to be a unitary thing? Consider this one:

Are your nose and your mouth connected in some way shape of form? (http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Is_your_nose_ … your_taste)

Having removed the repetition from the list, some feel compelled to put it back:

LORD BLESS THIS WOMAN IN EVERY WAY SHAPER FORM AND MANNER. (http://www.beliefnet.com/prayer/commemo … neID=32045)

I guess everything that you would expect to raise its head has risen its head in one shape of form or the other. (http://thecelebritycafe.com/interviews/ … ailey.html)

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#2 2009-03-03 21:09:03

nilep
Eggcornista
Registered: 2007-03-21
Posts: 291

Re: "shape of form"

When I saw the headline I thought, “Those have got to be typos.” But your examples definitely look like reshapings rather than simple mechanical errors. I’m not sure what the semantic imagery would be, but I’m convinced that at least some of those people intended “shape of form” or “shaper form”.

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#3 2009-03-05 23:36:22

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

Re: "shape of form"

“Weight shape or form” seems like such a natural reshaping that I’m surprised it doesn’t pull more hits. Still, there are plenty out there:

I don’t see the majority of Canadians backing Dion in any weight shape or form….so for that kind of statment that the majority of Canadians think Dion is right on the environment is kinda like false advertising……
http://scottdiatribe.canflag.com/2007/1 … te-change/

Anyone inclined to give a talk of any weight, shape or form?
http://mail.pm.org/pipermail/edinburgh- … 00117.html

I can no longer intake caffeine in any weight, shape or form.
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/1799168-post13.html

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#4 2009-03-23 22:27:52

burred
Eggcornista
From: Montreal
Registered: 2008-03-17
Posts: 1112

Re: "shape of form"

I found the following interesting further reshapings, some more successful than others: way shay perform, way shake or form and a jewel, in any way she’ll perform. Finally, without wanting to exaggerate its importance, an encounter with machine intelligence. I have not included repeats of the above entries, though there are several nice versions of Pat’s discovery, in the form of “weigh, shape or form”, on diet and exercise sites.

First, the most problematic: way shay perform. I doubt that there is any imagery intended here – it’s in birth pangs, or on the way somewhere that can’t yet be identified:

The things that cause problems are mobs that knock you back or some way shay perform get you away long enough to throw off you generating those combo points. (http://vnboards.ign.com/wow_rogue_class … 7525/p1/?7)

I think somebody in Tamiya found out how desperately everyone, who started their hobby with a Tamiya Off Road car, wanted a new car from Tamiya in any way shay perform including this one.
(http://forums.radiocontrolzone.com/show … 492&page=4)

I liked the following connection between gambling and shaking (dice?), though it may be intentional

For, as you know, I do not gamble in any shake or form, the gambling being a sinful activity, (http://www.irishblogs.ie/similar-to/a-d … e-racists/)

people shouldnt joke and kid.this story wasnt funny in any way shake or form. (http://www.wsaz.com/home/headlines/37156179.html)

As bad as things are right now, I would not bet my money on armageddon now. One way or the other, we’ll make our way back, although in what shake or form, nobody can tell. (http://app.businessweek.com/UserComment … ageIndex=4)

Stock market advice:

And energy through the whole complex, avoid the consumer discretionary and avoid the advertising model certainly, avoid anything that sort of related to the auto industry in any way she’ll perform. (http://forum.putclub.com/redirect.php?t … to=newpost)

It seems to me that somewhere in the archives of this site, I ran across someone’s comment about scanner errors. Has there been any discussion about the possibility that some of the “eggcorns” on the web are the inexact results of a computer process? It seems likely that the role of these errors in the development of the language itself will continue to grow. Both optical character recognition and voice-to-text software are legion today. After hunting down what I thought was an intriguing eggcorn: “anyway she perform” for any way, shape, or form, it became clear that all instances were mutations from voice transcripts of podcasts. I know it’s not deep or anything, and I have absolutely no doubt that it has been better expressed elsewhere, but I’m struck repeatedly with the similarity between the evolution of genetic material and of language. Entering a search phrase into google is no different from amplifying a specific gene sequence out of a mass of DNA. The success and propagation of a reshaping depends on chance (within the environment of culture) and felicity. Machine intelligence will act like a mutagen. Of course so will Annie Lehmann. It is an exactly analogous process all down the line. Which in no way she’ll perform reduces the occasional hilarity of the result.

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#5 2009-03-23 23:44:32

kem
Eggcornista
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2007-08-28
Posts: 2850

Re: "shape of form"

Pat has cautioned us, I know, about relying on Google Books and other scanned sources. One of his posts is here: http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2902

Then there are the errors that are introduced when spellcheckers go to work on scanned sources. Do a search for “cupertino” here or on Language Log to find out more about these confusions.


Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.

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#6 2009-03-25 23:14:54

burred
Eggcornista
From: Montreal
Registered: 2008-03-17
Posts: 1112

Re: "shape of form"

(Blanches) Thanks Kem, after a visit to all these places I see that this is very well-trodden ground (mentally drops 50-page groundbreaking manuscript into shredder).

Although it now has less than zero value, I humbly submit that, maybe, somewhere, there will be a place for an alternative to the cupertino. Let’s say cupertinos cover word-processor, optical-character-reader and voice-recognition-software goof-ups. That leaves … hmm, that leaves computer mistakes due to random cosmic-ray damage to circuits, and … the not-too-far off day when computers become sentient and start make errors under emotional stress.

When either of the latter events occur, I have prepared a new coinage: the silicism. Until then, or in case the Cupertino people want their word back, “silicism” will be redundant but ensconced in the archives.

A silicism is a mix of silicon and solecism, with strong dash of syllogism thrown in. A solecism is a grammatical mistake, in particular an error of syntax. Wikipedia says, “Ancient Athenians considered the dialect of the inhabitants of their colony Soli in Cilicia to be a corrupted form of their own pure Attic dialect, full of “solecisms”.” Say, sounds like our own carbon-based regard for the cupertino. A syllogism is the fundamental form of deductive reasoning, the sine qua non of our silicon cousins.

When I did a Google search for the word “silicism”, it was as if Google itself were voicing its approval in the few hits it provided. These included 2 inexplicable substitutions of the word silicism for, first, solecism, and second, sinicism. These are here – you will begin to see what I mean about the I Ching-like pertinence of these hits:

In speaking of the Book of Mormon, Dr. Pierce said that more than 3000 corrections to orthography and grammar had been made since the original edition. These 3000 cahnges, he said, are not typographical corrections [...] He said that the vernacular of the backwoods of western New York is found on every page of these works and that silicism which would delight the heart of the modern dialect writer crops out in every sentence.
(http://www.sidneyrigdon.com/dbroadhu/UT/tribune3.htm)

Realizing the limitation would be a threat to the art development, the painter gradually changes his approach in his later work and successfully solves his own artistic problem, which is to use the Chinese popular visual symbol to correspond to the existing Chinese culture and silicism. (http://www.artnow.com.cn/CommonPage/Art … leID=14523)

The other pertinent hits are flaming cupertinos. As Pat notes in the post Kem references above, a sign of Cupertinism is the appearance, in the link space on the search page, of an alphabet soup of ASCII symbols. The two links in question that Google produced were:

  • c<Ls i!i>i cl^sili cism PZt ?
  • in 2 c^nnn nf « silicism , >,vt>icl> reso«ilz

    The first led inexplicably to a book in German on “Planning, Statistics and Decision”. The second led, again as Pat suggested, to a Google book—The Gentleman’s Magazine—from 1795. It is worth quoting the passage identified, for it is pertinent. The word silicism it found in the passage was in fact the word “criticism” without its initial letter c:

    muft we give up a miracle in complement to a canon of c riticifm, which refpects dramatic compofition, but has nothing at all to do with the hiftory of God’s providential interpofitions ?” (http://books.google.ca/books?id=OfkRAAA … &ct=result) I believe this link will reproduce the effect.

    Finally, the silicism will provide fertile ground for meta-eggcorns through similarity to, for example, silicosis and psilocybin.

    By the way, let me finish this exposition with a bit of anticlimax: the gem found in the original submission above, any way she’ll perform, I have come to realize, is an online piece of homework from Chinese students learning to understand English by transcribing a piece of video from CNN; the video is there as well. Eggcorning in action.

    Last edited by burred (2009-03-25 23:19:49)

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#7 2009-03-26 08:43:45

DavidTuggy
Eggcornista
From: Mexico
Registered: 2007-10-11
Posts: 2712
Website

Re: "shape of form"

A silicism! I like it. It has the right feel of sinicysm to it.


*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .

(Possible Corollary: it is, and we are .)

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#8 2009-03-26 14:57:42

kem
Eggcornista
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2007-08-28
Posts: 2850

Re: "shape of form"

Silicism. I agree, great term.

It’s not likely we will bump “cupertino effect” at this stage, but perhaps we could sell “silicism” as the generic term: “The cupertino effect is a type of silicism caused by the spelling checker of a word processor.”

But then what would be the specific name for an error caused by text scanning?


Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.

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#9 2009-03-26 19:53:57

DavidTuggy
Eggcornista
From: Mexico
Registered: 2007-10-11
Posts: 2712
Website

Re: "shape of form"

And by voice recognition software.


*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .

(Possible Corollary: it is, and we are .)

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#10 2009-03-27 09:43:14

DavidTuggy
Eggcornista
From: Mexico
Registered: 2007-10-11
Posts: 2712
Website

Re: "shape of form"

Another variant:

LORD BLESS THIS WOMAN IN EVERY WAY SHAPER FORM AND MANNER.

PPGs DBC500 is in no way shaper form or fashion and adhesion promoter it is simply clear basecoat,

It appears that the plan is pretty well envision in one way shaper form to add additional access point off the area where the terminal and current parking …

Certainly a restructuring, but it doesn’t make much sense. Except maybe in the last example, where it is talking about shaping the roadway?
.
(I checked for “way shaker form” but didn’t come up with anything.)


*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .

(Possible Corollary: it is, and we are .)

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#11 2018-01-02 21:57:45

David Bird
Eggcornista
From: The Hammer, Ontario
Registered: 2009-07-28
Posts: 1690

Re: "shape of form"

Any way she’ll perform was not a legit hit, but the simpler version, she is out there.

So I’m asking you all first thing will you please keep her family and her in your prayers and if you could help in any way she perform even if it’s just $5
funding request

Definitely 150 percent recommend it to anybody needing their car serviced in any way she perform including having it towed
customer review

we don’t even use it anymore. It’s pretty much useless. it’s cool if you are sitting right in front of it but if you distance yourself in any way she perform it might as well not be on. The fan is loud but does not produce a blast of Arctic Cove air as it would seem by the name.
product review

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#12 2018-01-05 14:14:39

kem
Eggcornista
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2007-08-28
Posts: 2850

Re: "shape of form"

“Way she perform.” Funny, funny substitution for “way, shape, or form.”


Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.

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