Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
This is on CNN’s website 09/07/2009 concerning the cracks in the Bay Bridge between Oakland and San Francisco:
“But plans to reopen it by Tuesday morning’s rush hour were cast into doubt during an inspection of the east span, where workers found a “significant crack” in an eyebar.”
An I-bar has its name because the cross-sectional shape of the steel beam is that of a capital I (with serif).
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Welcome to the forum, reneediehl. This is an entertaining find, but I’m wondering whether it’s an eggcorn. An eggcorn still has to make some sense in context, and I’m not being clever enough to think of a convincing way in which an I-beam might seem like an “eyebeam.”
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Perhaps you’re right. Initially I thought that maybe they were thinking something related to eye teeth, in terms of the configuration of steel beams in the bridge. But aside from that, I agree, maybe it’s just a matter of misspelling. I checked the web and found that there is an “Eyebeam Atelier” in NYC, and I suppose if someone has heard of that, then it might be the first thing that springs to mind when hearing “I-beam”.
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I originally had the same thought—that the “eyebar” thing was just a typo—but tonight’s (Tu 10/27/09) shutdown of the Bay Bridge gave me an opportunity to look into it. There is such a thing as “an eyebar”—different than an I-beam. So, if I understand the parameters of an eggcorn, it’s a “reasonable” misuse, regardless which one you meant to use. But the use of “I-bar” is just plain wrong—it’s not a real word/thing.
Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eyebar
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I-beam
j.
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Thanks for the clarification, that’s very interesting! Now I’m not sure if this qualifies as an eggcorn, but I have learned something about beams and bars. The wiki description wasn’t too clear to me and the pics didn’t help me, but I google imaged eyebar and found some pics of the “eye” at the end of the bar and how they are connected together.
R.
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