Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Heard at work: “You guys go on to lunch, I will stay back and hold down the fork.”
The funniest part of the story is when we explained to this co-worker that the phrase is actually “Hold down the fort” she turned and told us that “that makes no sense at all!” I think she is correct on that.
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Welcome to the forum, MacGil!
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Very nice one: quite funny, and in the particular context, eggcornish enough, I think. If you are holding the fork down you are not letting it be up and functioning, so the one staying at work and not eating is in that sense holding down the fork. It doesn’t work so well in contexts where eating is not at issue, at least for me.
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It’s also specially nice when you have the eggcorner’s reaction to validate the fact that for her this was not a one-off error but a standard, well-established structure. Too often we have to make do with a large number of attestations (usually google hits) as evidence of standardness. It’s not as good evidence, as a lot of people can make the same plausible error without it being standard for any of them. Repeated errors (2 or more in the same post, unlikely to be mechanical copyings) are slightly better evidence.
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At least part of the reason why “hold down the fort†makes little sense is that, although it is perfectly standard for very many speakers, it owes its origin (I believe) to blending. “Hold the fort†was how it used to be said, and that is still standard for many speakers, including yours truly. (It is reported that General W.T. Sherman, during the American Civil War, sent a message to a subordinate who was holed up in a fort and under heavy attack, saying “Hold the fort, for I am comingâ€, and a Christian hymn with that title is still sometimes sung.) This phrase, which makes good sense, was blended with the more general phrase “hold things down (around here)†which also makes reasonable sense, but the blend makes it sound like the fort is likely to be blown away on the breeze and needs to be held down.
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Other variants I’ve recorded (most not standard and therefore not eggcorns, or not eggcornish for other reasons):
carry on the fort
take care of the fort
hold the fort together
hold down the ship
keep down the fort
keep the fort under
keep the floor going
hold your own fort
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Another mismatch that is quite standard for some is the use of hold the fort to mean “hold on there! wait a minute! slow down (your argument)! hold it (right there)!â€
Last edited by DavidTuggy (2010-07-06 03:51:12)
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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Wow! What a cute story! Perhaps the poster could go back and politely interview the woman. That would provide the most solid evidence of all.
Aside from that, David articulated my exact concerns extemely well, and it still puzzles me how the woman who took “hold down the fork” as standard usage would apply it to non-eating conditions. Could the meal-break metaphor be implied every time she utters it? That would be interesting.
In spite of reservations like this, I’m still prone to label this one an eggcorn … and not just a personal eggcorn … because there seem to be a few other examples on the web.
Examples
Will You Hold Down the Fork? – iamTAN7 posts – 7 authors – Last post: Aug 27, 2004
This hispanic guy in my office, just came to my desk and said, “I’m going to get a haircut, can you hold down the fork?” ...
www.iamtan.com/showthread.php?t=21386 – Cached
Judge says city police director must give up post | NJ.comMar 17, 2008 … I hope the next director is can hold down the fork or our city will spiral downwards. Plus where will you find a director who is a expertise …
www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/.../judge_s … enton.html – Cached
First StoryHe said that he and Cortex where going vacation and that Anuit and Element would have to hold down the fork back home. They agreeded and Chance and Cortex …
www.angelfire.com/art/lanigan/element.html – Cached
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Might the idea be that the fork will be distributing/wasting largess if you don’t hold it down (a pitchfork metaphor)? Might work for some contexts, anyway.
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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As someone who often has to help a at dinner, “holding down the fork” is what you do so someone else can cut your meat with the sharp knife.
It also might be what you do if you’re standing above a fire and toasting a marshmallow.
The second one might apply to cases where you’re leaving someone else to watch over the office, etc.
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