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#1 2010-07-19 17:48:33

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

'just going through the emotions' for 'just going through the motions'

I heard, or imagined I’d heard, someone use this eggcornish substitution and it seemed to possess the same lack of conviction or commitment as the original, a deliberate simulation or temporary posture. While there may be some conscious wordplay among the examples, many seem genuine:

It is not just going through the emotions, saying a bunch of thoughtless, mechanical words as some people do when they give thanks for a meal. ...

is just going through the emotions as if it meant nothing to him. Where is this so called tough guy? He should start showing up and show …

They seem to be just going through the emotions without giving their all as actors.

... given to GIA never went for parliamentary approval and a host of others.. President kuffour is just going through the emotions to die retire gracefully …

... good enough to provide the anguish and disappointment of the once great once but now just go through the emotions and pick up the check:

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#2 2010-07-19 20:34:52

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

Re: 'just going through the emotions' for 'just going through the motions'

Hi Peter,

The motion>>emotion reshaping was first pointed out by teragram last year, here: http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=4079

S/he was interested in a different idiom—“I second that emotion,” which has something of a different feel from yours. Though both substitutions work, I think, because we implicitly assume that feelings/emotions lie behind people’s actions/”motions.”

Last edited by patschwieterman (2010-07-19 20:35:51)

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