Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
You are not logged in.
Registrations are currently closed because of a technical problem. Please send email to
The forum administrator reserves the right to request users to plausibly demonstrate that they are real people with an interest in the topic of eggcorns. Otherwise they may be removed with no further justification. Likewise, accounts that have not been used for posting may be removed.
Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
I’m starting to see “leave way” for “leeway” more and more often—although the phrase “of leave way” only shows up 142 times with a Google search.
My favorite example: “The Lord gives us a lot of leave way if we are in ignorance which seems to be the case here on your part similar to myself for all those years.”—http://www.cephas-library.com/catholic/ … cross.html
Also: “Anyway my point is ferrari have been given a lot of leave way with the FIA and they’ re opinion is highley respected with the FIA, and as we’ve seen their opinion is acted on without regards to others!!”—http://www.jensonf1.com/forum/forums/th … "e=yes
Offline
A cool find. Googling the one-word version “leaveway” gets 490 hits, of which at least 154 are unique—and the great majority appear to be your reshaping.
Offline
This one was just reported to me by my sister, who translates in courtroom situations:
Today the judge kept saying to the attorney that normally she would not permit X, but given the language barrier she would grant him a little leaveway! I guess she let him get away with it?
(I think she meant the judge left him get away with it?)
.
A dictionary website supposedly “powered by Oxford” (whatever that means) considers it legit:
1. A degree of freedom; scope, leeway. ¶ 2. Encouragement, incentive; permission. Now chiefly US (in African-American usage).
It also says:
Origin ¶ Late 19th century (in an earlier sense). From leave + way.
I wonder what that earlier sense was?
.
To my mind it is still pretty clearly an eggcorn, and certainly was when it began to be used under definition #1. Definition #2 just seems like a slight strengthening of #1: granting leeway and giving permission are very close to each other, and either of them, especially in a courtroom situation, comes close to, if it does not constitute, encouragement.
.
(Also discussed here .)
Last edited by DavidTuggy (2020-01-14 07:15:58)
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
Offline