Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Olfaction is an primitive sense. In its relation to taste, it developed before any organism could see; it’s far deeper than bone. But relative to dogs, humans are blind to smells. Bloodhounds, the most acute of the canines, can detect odors that are 100 million times fainter than those that hit us. And who knows how the Double-Nosed Andean tiger hound sees the world.
In the digital age, we evoke smells and stinks to connect to our animal nature. “Ziller had the stink of Pan about him. Amanda heard the phone ring in her womb.”1 “I stink, therefore I am.”2 “Instink” must relate to our primitive, preconceptual side, to the basic inbuilt senses.
Road kill
They are just running on pure instink and cant help but want to move around to find food
Collaborative fiction
out of pure instink i jumped off the cliff
Martial Arts forum
jesus what an armbar. that was pure instink, was a fast slick arm bar
Fishin’ forum
Not having even fished for 6 months i had to rely on pure instink.
Dog behavior
do you think my female dog(not a hunting dog(a boxer) mothering instinked would come in if we got a kitten?
[1] Tom Robbins, Another Roadside Attraction
[2] Ibid., Jitterbug Perfume
Last edited by David Bird (2010-09-12 09:28:45)
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I think the first time many kids hear the word “instinct” it is mistaken for “in stink” ... and if it just happens to correspond to a situation where an animal is using it’s sense of smell then an eggcorn is inevitable.
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