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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Hello, folks! Long time eggcorn sampler, first time poster. I discovered this gem reading Steam forums, which is probably not a place known for its proper use of the language.
This particular poster expresses that a facet of the game wrecks the balance of play by using a metaphor:
There is little point in playing any other class other than Heavy right now
“If he doesn’t rip competitive play open stem to sternum now, I’ll be ♥♥♥♥ing flabbergasted.”
I did a double-take. Google reassures me 212,000 to 3,930 that the correct phrase is “stem to stern”, a nautical term meaning from the pointy tip of the boat (the “bow”) to the other, flatter end (or “ass”). Being ripped open from stem to sternum certainly sounds gruesome, even without knowing what part of the anatomy the “stem” refers to (probably one’s brain stem). But the metaphor obviously means from top to bottom, front to back, further evidenced by such uses as:
from The Great Movies II – Roger Ebert
“Indeed, all he has to do is remain silent and the laser will slice Bond from stem to sternum.”
I assume that Roger Ebert was simply being clever here, but the fact remains that the sternum is in the center of one’s body. Regardless of whether the stem referred to is that of the brain or that in the crotch (the “dongle”), it doesn’t quite reflect the message intended; that laser wasn’t going to stop half way.
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Pretty gruesome–like a gutted fish–a fine catch! Welcome to the posting side of the forum, matt.
Last edited by DavidTuggy (2010-10-09 22:24:53)
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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I’d feel a bit more confident if we could find an example of “stem to sternum” that meant, as “stem to stern” does, the whole caboodle, and the example didn’t include a reference to ripping, slicing, gutting, or the human body. The speakers/writers using “stem to sternum” may be punning.
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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I hear you, kem. It would be good if the verb were, say, “searchâ€, which collocates well with from stem to stern . I don’t doubt that some users are consciously (in some degree) punning.
Yet, even if the context is one of ripping, slicing, etc., the two phrases add up to very different ways of saying “completely, physically from one end to the otherâ€. The imagery change is from the idea of a ship being the referenced or affected entity to its being a (usually human) body.
Examples that don’t involve slicing are not very hard to find–this is a surprisingly robust collocation, with ghits in the thousands.
During this time, I’ve been kicked in the face, slammed into a goal post, and run over from stem to sternum. So at various points in my soccer career, ...
I was looking at someone’s Camaro whose engine compartment was wired from stem to sternum in neon lights.
He has tons of videos that basically train from stem to sternum how to use after effects by showing you through practical examples.
Our diminutive hero proceeds to clean up the town from stem to sternum, and in a very business like manner
her claim of work-related stem to sternum cervical disability
They’re coming from all the way down there in Florida, travelling from stem to sternum,
and on March 26th they will be at The Wildflower Cafe to rock our balls off!
Re whether the stem is the brain stemË certainly not always:
White Rat Dissection Lab Report, Anatomy_&_Physiology, College … – [ Traducir esta página ]
Search 101000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com … The first incision is made from stem to sternum, cutting through the errectos abdomen muscle down to the groin. ...
...slice a man from stem to sternum, the stem being your dick, okay? -l get it. -Okay. Well, anyway… ...if you’re his knife dummy, ...
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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Thanks for doing the gruntwork for me, David!
I must say, the idea that casual listeners, looking for an analogue for “stem” in the human anatomy, end up with penis, is pretty darned funny. As if all flowering plants are supported on phalluses, or we all walk around, thrusting our johnsons full speed ahead, wherever we go.
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A great find. David’s examples and a number of other ones I looked at online have convinced me that some users are definitely using this in a non-punning way that fits the context of the acorn.
I think Kem raises a really good point, however—the proportion of instances of “stem to sternum” that involve ripping/slicing/gutting far outstrips the proportion (and probably even the sheer number) of such references with the acorn. Some cases of the reshaping looked fairly clinical and literal (though the question of what “stem” refers to becomes, as pointed out above, more interesting) and some do seem to be puns. But I think other instances of “slicing * from stem to sternum” seem authentic and are probably examples of how structurally reshaped phrases are sometimes put to a different use, or are used in a different context or with a different emphasis.
Last edited by patschwieterman (2010-10-10 13:57:20)
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patschwieterman wrote:
But I think other instances of “slicing * from stem to sternum” seem authentic and are probably examples of how structurally reshaped phrases are sometimes put to a different use, or are used in a different context or with a different emphasis.
“Begging the question” syndrome!
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Your examples convince me, David. I think fishmatt has hooked a live one.
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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