Eggcorn Forum

Discussions about eggcorns and related topics

You are not logged in.

Announcement

Registrations are currently closed because of a technical problem. Please send email to if you wish to register.

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

#1 2006-08-10 19:34:29

LibbytheLibrarian
Member
Registered: 2006-08-10
Posts: 1

Happenchance for happenstance

My best friend charmingly refers to “happenchance” rather than “happenstance,” which I feel is a very intuitive slip of the tongue.

Offline

 

#2 2006-08-10 21:29:37

patschwieterman
Administrator
From: California
Registered: 2005-10-25
Posts: 1680

Re: Happenchance for happenstance

“Happenchance” probably was a slip of the tongue once. But both the OED and the AHD list it: the latter gives it its own entry without further comment; the former calls “happenchance” an altered form of “happenstance.” The OED article also makes it clear that the first citation for “happenchance” (1911) comes only 14 years after the first citation for ‘happenstance” (1897). They’ve been fellow travelers for a long time, and they’re both apparently considered standard these days.

Offline

 

Board footer

Powered by PunBB
PunBB is © 2002–2005 Rickard Andersson
Individual posters retain the copyright to their posts.

RSS feeds: active topicsall new posts