Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
A bit of eggcorn housekeeping:
Ben Zimmer reports in Language Log about the inclusion of “eggcorn” in the new American Heritage Dictionary. The dictionary has a more accurate definition than the one in the OED.
A New Zealand newspaper subjects its readers to a “cacoughany” of eggcorns.
And not so eggcorn housekeeping:
Have you noticed how often people say just water under the dam and just water over the bridge? (The latter blend is often tongue-in-cheek.) David T has recorded these, I’m sure.
Last edited by kem (2011-11-06 11:19:39)
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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Thanks for those—I’ve been furiously grading and have been unaware of all such recent things.
I liked the fact that the New Zealand writer seemed to have bothered to explore the Forum as well as the Database—sadly rare among eggcornical tourists.
I think I’ve caught myself saying “water over the bridge”—it’s pretty insidious.
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Yes, they are wonderful.
Re just water under the dam and just water over the bridge, yes, I’ve got them both multiply attested (and I love them). Besides a number of related variants, incl:
Being 32 [at that time], I had a lot of mileage under the bridge already
There’s a lot of bridge has gone under the water since then
Since then many things have happened under the bridge
OK, that’s just spilt milk under the bridge
That’s bad water over the bridge
That’s baggage under the bridge
Many years have gone under the river.
[It was easier doing the plumbing job this time.] It helps to have had a little more water under my belt.
They’ve passed a lot of water over the bridge since then.
We’ve all passed a lot of water since then.
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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