Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
This is my first post, and you guys seem to know way more about this than I.
My friend said “battling ram” instead of “battering ram” the other day. I’m certain that he was talking about the type of blunt, heavy object used to break down a door or fortification. It seems to make sense in that a battering ram would be used during battle. I suppose it could be used to mow down infantry or light cavalry as well, which would definitely make it good for “battling”. In the least, it gave me a good giggle.
Thoughts?
Last edited by Sooperburd (2010-02-25 17:43:41)
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Sooper, sooperburd. We have discussed battery ram before, but not “battling ram.” “Battling ram” is a common eggcorn, as you can see by scanning the Google hits for it.
This forum has also noticed an example of “battling” as the acorn of an eggcorn. See battling for batting.
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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Yes, I did google it. Some mascots and a cartoon character. However, if it is an eggcorn, then why is it not in the database?
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Some mascots and a cartoon character.
Not sure what you mean. There are many good examples of this eggcorn. Just a few at random…
Put the blueprints for the ship in the mill. Put hammers and the blueprints for the battling ram on the ship
46 piece set includes swinging dragon battling ram, and dragon’s claw ladder
Now why would a dictator need to define their role? It’s more like using a battling ram to force a narrow vision of culture down our throats.
Let’s see, Heather was used as a battling ram to knock on my manor’s door
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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Ohhhh, I was using the top search box on the Eggcorn database (which doesn’t return anything useful when I put “battling” into it). When I put “battling” into the bottom search box (the one that says Google Search), I get the hits that you just listed. Thanks!
Why are there two different search boxes?
Last edited by Sooperburd (2010-02-26 00:44:07)
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Why are there two different search boxes?
Pat has a brief explanation of the search boxes at http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3986 . He has given other explanations, but I can’t seem to locate them now (alas, no FAQ).
As to your question about why eggcorns are not in the database—perhaps Pat can also supply a link to one of his many explanations of this quandary. In the meantime, this thread has a discussion of some of the issues.
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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As to your question about why eggcorns are not in the database—perhaps Pat can also supply a link to one of his many explanations of this quandary.
Well, Chris—the site owner—is the person who handles getting things into the Database, and I can’t speak for her. Very briefly, this used to be a wiki, and anyone could enter an article into the Database. And anyone did—which explains why there are some pretty weak entries in the Database. Eventually, the wiki aspects were disabled, and only a small group of busy people ended up with the key to the Database. If you’re going to do an article well, it takes some time, and I suspect the enormous backlog has come to feel like a gigantic obstacle that’s just too hard to get around for the people in charge. But I’m guessing.
As for the search engine question, I’ve posted a rough draft of a search engine FAQ over on Kem’s FAQ thread, if anyone would like to offer critiques.
Last edited by patschwieterman (2010-02-26 13:44:59)
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