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
The substitution of “pairing” for “paring” is so common that ads for paring knives sometimes use the word “pairing”. It is happening today Nov 30, 2010 on http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products … ing-knife/
or just google: http://www.google.com/search?q=%22pairing+knife%22
Offline
So give us a good rationale for the meaning: how does a paring knife function to pair anything?
.
And welcome to the forum. I expect we all resemble you (or at least your name) in some degree.
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
Offline
I think that perhaps Nitpicker, like me, did not at first realise that this sort of misuse belongs in the
“Slips, innovations and reshapings” forum.
Offline
Yeah, it takes a while to realize that an eggcorn should present a unique imagery which justifies the word choice.
By the way, I previously posted on pearing knife as a knife which is used to remove the rind from a pear…
Offline
Here’s an example I stumbled upon while researching another eggcorn:
A two inch pairing knife is more than enough to cause a life threatening injury.
discussion
I think it could be an eggcorn in some cases, because cutting something in two can be seen as “pairing” it (i.e., making a thing into a pair of things).
Offline