Eggcorn Forum

Amelia Earhart’s name was a household word in the 1920s and 1930s. Her fans followed the exploits of Lady Lindy through magazines, radio and newsreels. Earhart’s mysterious disappearance (and presumed death) on a round-the-world flight in 1937 added a halo of mystery to her already shining fame.

“Amelia Earhart” is no longer a household word. Those who know anything about her are likely to have heard her name in passing, perhaps in some classroom oral report. Her last name, we note, is pronounced so that it rhymes with “care cart,” and on the web we see a tendency to spell her last name as “Airhart.” Some of the web examples with “Airhart” are obvious puns, and a few are punctuated with marks of distrust about the spelling, but many web authors believe that the phonetically equivalent “Airhart” is the correct spelling for the surname of America’s first lady of the air.

Some examples follow. The first one is from a ten-year old. Young, but past the age of eggcountability.

Post by a 10-year old “who is the most important woman out of Billy Jean King( the sports extrordinare), Eleanor Roosevelt( humanitarian and former first lady), or Amelia Airhart ( pilot)?”

Bulletin board post “do any of them have hero’s or look up to people like mother theresa or amelia airhart or joan of arc…i would bet 99% of young girls have no clue who these women are or what they did”

South Dakota tourism site “The AirVenture Cup Race will attempt to replicate the excitement of the Bendix Trophy Races of the 1930’s where daredevil pilot’s began to go farther, and faster every day. Daredevil pilots like Jimmie Doolittle, Bill Lear Jr. and Amelia Airhart .”

Blog entry “I also met Sally Chapman, who’s grandfather was George Putnam, the publisher. Years ago, he fell in love and eventually married Amelia Airhart .”