Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2011-03-08
A night or two ago, I saw someone on TV use the term “planoply”. Just a mispronunciation? Probably, but I think it’s also very plausibly an eggcorn. The pronunciation similarity is obvious. Meaning-wise, a panoply is “a splendid display”, while “planoply” could imply “plan” in the sense of a floor plan or street plan, i.e., a picture laid out before the viewer. Googling “planoply” yielded about 30 or 40 unique hits of the type that could be an eggcorn. A few examples:
”...analysis will include the use of the full planoply of techniques aimed at delineating the spectrum…”
“Where does he fit into the planoply of polemics?”
“It was worth it, the Church contains a planoply of maritime artifacts…”
“This flower is similar to one of those written-over scrolls in that it is a planoply of colors in a series of overlaid patterns.”
I suppose that, short of testimony from someone who’s used the term, it’s unlikely we’ll ever know for sure whether any of these usages are eggcorns or just mispronunciations, but then, I reckon that’s true of many (most?) accepted eggcorns anyway.
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