Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2011-03-08
“Curve one’s enthusiasm” might have been covered in earlier post, but a related eggcorn which is even more prevalent is “Curve one’s appetite”. So prevalent is it that I momentarily had to stop and think whether it was legitimate… for shame! Popular usage of “curve” loses out to the proper usage of “curb” in the sense of “check, control”. (By the way, is anyone else ready to admit that the eggcorn sometimes seems like the real thing?)
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Google counts on Aug 13, 2006
309 Curve your enthusiasm
5,180,000 Curb your enthusiasm
1550 Curve your appetite
96,500 Curb your appetite
What a difference between the top set and the bottom set!
If these numbers are representative of the general population, then about 1.6% believe that “curve your appetite” is the correct form!
I thought that one internet site even mentioned a book named “Curve your Appetite.” Was this intentional or an oversight by the editors?
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I’m pretty sure the book title is a pun. That’s the ticket with eggcorns—the good ones will exist as puns.
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