Eggcorn Forum

David Bird · 2019-03-01 15:22:39

A recent harvest of interesting slips, reshapings and misunderstandings recorded on r/boneappletea.
active David < affidavit, cerebral policy > palsy, laundry ray < lingerie, tangle telly > tagliatelle, clam india < chlamydia, in one ear and not the other, one two many < one too many, hokum < occam, tack ticks < tactics, me and while, embrace yourself < brace yourself, guild mushroom < gilled, civil wear < silverwear, ice graper < scraper, as soon < assume, non chillant < nonchalant (about 50 hits), lawnchairay < lingerie, super&tender < superintendant, habla gated < obligated, where ol’ where, tighty < tidy, ass and nine < asinine, chubby chic < shabby, stalemeat < stalemate, pesto bismal < pepto-bismol, goos pumps < goosebumps, counter fit < counterfeit, bench watching < binge, kimono dragon < Komodo, silly coned < siliconed, napking < napkin, cuddle sack < cul-de-sac, S cargo < escargot.

There have also be a number of one-off, mondegrenous introductions of a name into another word, that titillate:
April Ham Lincoln, Sarah Tonin, Noah Fence, Mary Nara sauce, Michael wave oven, Michael Damion nut cookies, G Furgolf < G for golf, Shandon Lear < chandelier.

And the winner is: clam India.

DavidTuggy · 2019-03-01 20:39:57

Good grief! Non-chillant is perhaps my favorite: a controcorn of sorts. (I mean, chillant ought to mean â€œnon-chalantâ€, more or less.

David Bird · 2019-03-02 05:40:45

These just in in the last few days: frontallopes < frontal lobes, but jesus < bejeezus, my ears are bleating < bleeding, air raider < aerator, buyist < biased.

Hehe.

Also: in cage < engaged, but Kem had already spotted that one.

Last edited by David Bird (2019-03-02 05:42:11)

burred · 2019-07-29 16:57:22

I just had to add this. Is it a Lehmann if the original was a name?

David Bird · 2019-07-31 17:57:51

This would leave us without a term to describe â€œthe respelling of a proper name to bring it into line with the semantics of a similar-sounding non-proper word.â€
Kem

So Bruise Lee is just out there.

kem · 2019-07-31 21:36:50

Bruise Lee. That’s wonderful. Calling them gradegrinds, as I suggested way back when, is pretty darn obscure. We should call the respelling of a proper name to bring it into line with the semantics of a similar-sounding non-proper word “Bruise Lees.”

kem · 2019-07-31 22:00:58

“Non chillant” seems to be an eggcorn. I’m not sure it’s a controcorn. If you do something in a nonchalent way, it “breaks the ice,” it does not introduce an awkward, icy atmosphere.

I agree, “clam india” for “clamydia” is wonderful (though possibly offensive, like “French pox”). But the phrase doesn’t appear to pass the frequency tests that could prove it an established usage and therefore an eggcorn.

“Silly cone breast implants” for “silicon breast implants,” though also rare, might just qualify as an eggcorn. Problem is, the pun factor is high, so it would require some fairly solid proof. “In one ear and not the other” also has frequency issues.

The others that could be eggcorns, such as kimono dragon and counterfit, we have already discussed on the Forum.

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#1 2019-03-01 15:22:39

Bone apple tea roundup

#2 2019-03-01 20:39:57

Re: Bone apple tea roundup

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