Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
“Yuk it up”—with 869,000 Google hits—and “yak it up”—with 172,000—seem to be two expression that stand on their own merits …based on numbers alone. (Even so, I always suspect that one begot the other because of the similar construction, so that’s my first point).
My second point is that at least one dictionary says that “yuk it up” is used to express strong disgust … which is different from the meaning that I had assumed: to have some good laughs. Perhaps someone could clarify the proper usage.
My third point is that I heard “yuk it up” where I expected to hear “yak it up” on NPR today. I take “yak it up” to mean chat (with), so it seems to me that perhaps “yuk” (with or without its laughter element) is being used to mean “yak.” So, I wonder if the usage of “yuk” is not at all standardized.
At any rate, this was just a reshaping that I found curious… and I’m not entirely certain which direction the reshaping goes, so this returns to my first point: which version is the original?
Hopefully someone can do a better job of explaining what exactly is going on here; I’m on the verge of saying that “yuk it up” is the original but some have changed it to “yak it up” because they are not comfortable with the ambiguity created by the multiple meaning of “yuk.” (A hypercorrection?)
Have at it.
Last edited by jorkel (2010-09-15 10:38:04)
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My cat yuks up bits of mouse and I don’t want to know what else, but it doesn’t seem to be laughing as it does so, although I could be wrong. “Yuk it up” reminds me of chucking up too, and I would guess it is the acorn, but can give no good reason why this should be so. “Yak it up” on the other hand sounds like over-praising something and rhymes with “jack it up” which, with its notions of lifting or elevating, could have a similar meaning.
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For me “yuk-yuk-yuk†(also spellable “yuck-yuck-yuckâ€) is a close synonym of “har-de-har-harâ€; it somewhat onomatopoeically denotes a not-very-highly-falutin’ laughter. So although I get the yucky associations Peter mentions, “yucking it up†has worked fine for me. I also suspect it was the acorn, and that “yak it up†would be the eggcorn here.
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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