Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Right after notiicng this one, I discovered that I had been anticipated by one of our more prolific contributors by about 5 years. It’s surely a sign of encroaching senility when you start plagiarizing yourself but , anyway, it’s a cute and forgotten eggcorn, so I’m re-posting it.
MAN: It’s something we’re aware of and you know, it’s not nice to have this sort of Damocles over your head, but I mean we were more than delighted …
www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/transcripts/2418avalanche.html
They were just moving on with their lives and that sort of Damocles is how it’s going to come back.
www.antimusic.com/morley/08/CyCurnin.shtml
So this sort of Damocles is held over the heads of the utilities.
www.aidea.org/BoardMaterials/.../AIDEA% … 20Mins.pdf
... and considering it’s pretty much the only thing keeping their head above water it seems like a sort of damocles hanging over the head of the track, ...
search.cga.state.ct.us/dtsearch.asp?cmd…5531…
You know, you’ve got a stick hanging over people’s head, a sort of damocles, with all kinds of threats and it’s a terrible position to put people in.
search.cga.state.ct.us/dtsearch.asp?cmd…5545…
Anyone would do that, any ordinary, normal person with that sort of Damocles hanging over their heads would respond in exactly the same way. ...
www.ericsams.org/interview.htm -
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The thread by which the sword hangs is another component of Damocles’ plight. It can get tangled up with the threat that the sword represents. At least I think that’s what’s going on in the following.
How to stack firewood
We don’t want the water up there either because its like the Sword of Damocles hanging as a threat over our drying wood.
Sermon
the context of exile hanging as a threat over one’s head
EXCITED BLOG COMMENT
senior, babies with deformanty will not survive. Our life is hanging by a threat in the hands of a DICTATOR” SAY NO TO THIS NATIONAL HEALTH CARE IT DID NOT WORK IN FRANCE OR SPAIN
India Today forum
We have now realised the fact that this sword of terrorism is ever hanging as a threat to the world’s peace and brotherhood
BTW, “a sort of Damocles” is wonderfully strange.
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I’ll second David B’s verdict on this as “wonderfully strange”—I’d love to ask users what sense they make of this one. I’m glad Ken rehabilitated this—I had no memory of it.
I think this is one of those Lehmann’s terms that aren’t technically eggcorns. For me, Damocles needs a sword over his head before he’s an icon of threat.
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