Eggcorn Forum

Google count on Sept 9, 2006
313,000 “nothing to sneeze at”
13,200 “nothing to sneer at”
Analysis by Joe Krozel

The (slightly modified) idiom is “nothing to sneeze at” and it means “something to be taken seriously.” (See bottom for the etymology of “not to be sneezed at.”)

“Sneer” means to show facial expressions of scorn and contempt, so one can more readily make sense of the phrase “nothing to SNEER at” if one handing out good advice. Even so, it constitutes an eggcorn.

Examples:

Independent Online Edition > Philip HensherCorrect spelling is nothing to sneer at. ... Correct spelling is nothing to sneer at. A spelling competition doesn’t sound promising, but any display of …
comment.independent.co.uk/columnists_a_l/philip_hensher/article55281.ece – Similar pages

Not everyone wants to take a Cruise – MORE MOVIE NEWS AND FEATURES …True, $393 million is nothing to sneer at — but when your marquee star has a lucrative development deal, a 20 percent cut of box office and a hefty portion …
www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14483803/ – 49k – Sep 8, 2006 – Cached – Similar pages

NPR : Greenland Glaciers Moving More Quickly to the OceanJOYCE: Not a huge quake, say, for California, maybe a magnitude five or so, but nothing to sneer at for a glacier. What’s important here though is that the …
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5298864 – Similar pages

The Listening EarStill, two days of non-stop volleyball is nothing to sneer at). April 23, 1983, SAC co-sponsored the East Lansing Take Back the Night march for the first …
www.thelisteningear.net/History.shtml – 21k – Cached – Similar pages

Boudicca’s Voice: HB, TGOOSixty-six trips around the sun…nothing to sneer at, I’ll warrant! Posted by: Elisson at September 5, 2006 08:39 AM. Post a comment. Name: Email Address: ...
boudicca.mu.nu/archives/195327.html – 13k – Cached – Similar pages

Kim Cameron’s Identity Weblog » David Weinberger – lover of the …Identity theft is nothing to sneer at, for example. But are we sure we want to institute a curfew instead of installing better locks? ...
www.identityblog.com/?p=547 – 18k – Cached – Similar pages

Storm TipsEven if Ernesto hits Hampton Roads as a hurricane, it is expected to be mostly a rain event, but that’s nothing to sneer at. Every inch of rain equals 27154 …
www.pwmag.com/industry-news.asp?section … eID=358433 – 34k – Cached – Similar pages

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Etymology of “Not to be sneezed at” from the website:
http://experts.about.com/q/Etymology-Me … othing.htm
quoted below

NOT TO BE SNEEZED AT – “…People in older times imagined that a sneeze cleared the mind. It certainly gave them a feeling of exhilaration. Suddenly, 17th century Europe caught a craze for sneezing. It was considered the right thing to do in good society. Indeed, the more you sneezed, the more you proved yourself a member of the privileged class. To build up this new status symbol, all kinds of devices were used. It was soon realized that snuff caused sneezing. Therefore everyone who was someone carried with him a little box, containing a mixture of sneeze-producing herbs or tobacco. By drawing an ample pinch of it into the nostrils, a hearty sneeze resulted in no time. Of course only the rich and idle had time to sneeze or could afford snuff. Hence the self-induced sneeze became synonymous with aristocratic living. If you were able to sneeze ‘on call,’ you showed audibly your status in society. But one matter had still to be decided. Just to sneeze haphazardly was not good enough. There had to be a special occasion. Soon sneezing became part of men’s conversation. You indulged in it whenever you wanted to show your disapproval of anything said or, even more so, your lack of interest in the matter discussed. A sneeze was an unmistakable way of saying politely ‘you bore me.’ Consequently and logically, anything ‘not to be sneezed at’ was something really worthwhile.” From “How Did It Begin?” by R. Brasch (Pocket Books, New York, 1969).

Last edited by jorkel (2006-09-09 21:00:51)