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Chris -- 2018-04-11

#1 2009-08-12 00:15:15

palimpsest
Member
Registered: 2009-08-12
Posts: 1

piranha for pariah

A friend of ours, slightly inebriated at the time, said she felt like a “social piranha” (rather than a ‘social pariah’). I said you feel like what? and she repeated it. Wonderful!

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#2 2009-08-12 09:26:55

Chris Waigl
Eggcorn Faerie
From: London, UK
Registered: 2005-10-14
Posts: 115
Website

Re: piranha for pariah

Welcome, palimpsest!

This is indeed a beautiful slip / error, but sounds like a classical malapropism to me—especially since you cite inebriation: of the “allegories on the banks of the Nile” type.

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#3 2010-10-24 10:52:17

jorkel
Eggcornista
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 1456

Re: piranha for pariah

I came across this one again today in the guise of “became a piranha,” and I just think there’s a thin line between eggcorns and malapropisms… which is to say I think I can make a case for an eggcorn even while this error enjoys the status of a classical malapropism). There is enough imagery here created by the negative connotations of a piranha; If everyone is afraid to get bitten by a piranha in their midst, it would soon become an outcast, a pariah.

Paulick Report » Blog Archive » UPDATED: MEYER “SANDY” FRUCHER …Jun 4, 2010 … What was conceptually beneficial became a piranha to the greatest horse racing institution in the world! Caleb B Says: ...
www.paulickreport.com/.../meyer-sandy-f … f-nyc-otb/ – Cached

Newsvine – Breitbart refuses opportunity to apologize to SherrodJul 22, 2010 … I think you mean a pariah, but it would be amusing if he became a piranha too. 5 votes. #22.2 – Thu Jul 22, 2010 1:18 PM EDT …
killfile.newsvine.com/_…/4728512-breitbart-refuses-opportunity-to-apologize-to-sherrod – Cached

Creating an Authentic Life: The Storyteller and the Tale of Self – Google Books ResultRob Reider – 2010 – Philosophy
She quickly became a piranha to both the boys and girls. Her close friends from the neighborhood and elementary school moved away from her. ...
books.google.com/books?isbn=0865346577…

Mormon Discussions • View topic – Missionaries21 posts – 11 authors – Last post: Nov 12, 2008
She became a piranha ‘cause she was always thinking. Such is the fate of those who think too much. Beware lest the same fate befall you, ...
mormondiscussions.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f… – Cached

...such is the consequence of not wanting to think too much, I guess.

Last edited by jorkel (2010-10-24 11:05:30)

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#4 2010-10-31 15:28:46

CatherineR
Eggcornista
Registered: 2006-08-09
Posts: 61

Re: piranha for pariah

Would this be related to the common confusion between a leper and a leopard?

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