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Chris -- 2018-04-11

#1 2014-01-08 15:52:23

DavidTuggy
Eggcornista
From: Mexico
Registered: 2007-10-11
Posts: 2714
Website

iceburg(h) << iceberg

I was very surprised not to find any mention of this on the site yet. It is very common (reasonably often repeated, no sign of tongue in cheek). E.g.

the Titanic is believed to have sunk (striking an iceburgh, taking on water, and breaking in two

Revenge of an Iceburg
By: AParselmouthsPatronous We all know the story of the Titanic, but did anyone ever wonder what the iceburg thought about it all? […] Always remember: Revenge of an Iceberg: Best served Cold.

I suppose a good many may think it is something as big as a city or town. Not quite as apropòs as “big as a mountain”, but not unreasonable either.
.
For most US English speakers at least, burg / -burg(h) ‘town, city’ is pretty well established, but berg ‘mountain’ is much less so, if at all, so the flow is in the expected direction. The main doubt is how strong the acorn is anymore: this is in several ways (including the involvement of a foreign language, namely German) more an established folk etymology than the incipient ones we call eggcorns.


*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .

(Possible Corollary: it is, and we are .)

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#2 2014-01-09 10:39:01

kem
Eggcornista
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2007-08-28
Posts: 2851

Re: iceburg(h) << iceberg

An elegant reshaping.

Another intrusion of “burgh:”

Aviation forum: “ suburgh of Montreal, Quebec”

Genealogy forum: “Worthington, Oh ( a suburgh of Columbus}”

Comment on picture: “I went every where around my litte suburgh ( including the woods) for my little photo shoot”

Web forum: “Wexford is a suburgh in Pittsburgh”


Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.

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