Eggcorn Forum

Yesterday, a train derailed in Ontario. In today’s news report on the CBC, they said that “the company wasted no time in looking for explanations”. That’s a straightforward idiomatic expression, of course, and not an error of any kind. Still, it revealed its dual nature in my mind by pulling in two directions at once, the way eggcorns do, and that tension felt interesting, and I went looking for instances of the expression that went in both directions, the idiomatic and the literal, and especially those that fell somewhere in between. The result is this long list. There’s nothing beyond that, so if you’re pressed for time, waste none.

This alliance was so deeply loved and adored by our fathers and mothers that they wasted no time looking at other options.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/prin … al-jaafar/

Luna wasted no time looking at all the nifty gadgets. She had come for one thing and one thing only.
http://www.virtual-hogwarts.org/rpg/ind … opic=46697

Horrified, I wasted no time looking at my left foot and to my utter dismay, there was a forest on that one too!
http://vividintellect.blogspot.com/2010 … sting.html

He wasted no time looking around; he went straight for the center floorboard and pried it up.
http://www.google.ca/search?q=%22wasted … rt=50&sa=N

The scientist wasted no time looking around the trailer, thoroughly inspecting everything eagerly.
http://szayelaporro.tumblr.com/

Everything was so well organized in the townhome that we wasted no time looking for things.
http://www.vrbo.com/203142

He wasted no time looking for the shooter, but ducked behind a nearby dumpster.
http://www.mobafire.com/league-of-legen … rotherhood

Pere Callahan, once Father Callahan of ’salem’s Lot, turned the Ruger’s muzzle on himself. He wasted no time looking for eternity in the darkness of the barrel but placed it deep against the shelf of his chin.
http://www.e-reading.org.ua/bookreader. … Tower.html

She wasted no time looking for DVDs or exploring the kitchen cupboards, there was only one thing on her agenda now.
http://www.literotica.com/s/the-babysitter-28

And once at our destination, we wasted no time looking for a parking; instead we just let the car drive away to pick up its next customer.
http://www.literotica.com/s/the-girls-storm-cabo-day-02

Uponreaching the top, he wasted no time looking back to see how close they were. He knew them to be excellent climbers.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/35779125/INST … ibd-Sample

As soon as we arrived I wasted no time looking through the other sections. I marched straight to the belt section.
http://cherrycokecruising.com/?cat=15&paged=4

Eileen … was a shaved piece of art work and I wasted no time looking.
http://stories.xnxx.com/story/37991/Eileen

Congressman Jack Murtha [...] wasted no time looking at evidence or listening to the Marines’ version of events
http://blamebush.typepad.com/blamebush/ … tcher.html

The gang wasted no time looking at the scenery as everyone got a feel of the rock.
http://climbingdurian.blogspot.com/

We therefore wasted no time looking at the view
http://angelfish42.wordpress.com/2010/07/

We therefore wasted no time looking at the view however there was not much to see – the loch was covered in Scotch Mist!
http://angelfish42.wordpress.com/2010/07/

Nearly a dozen firefighters who showed up wasted no time looking at the department’s new toy. They raised the hatches and ogled the twin 380-horsepower Cummins diesel engines
http://www.marinij.com/ci_4218592

The Zoo is pretty big, but we wasted no time looking at all the animals. We didn’t get to see some because they wern’t able to be found.
http://alissakelly.blogspot.com/2010/09/day-at-zoo.html

I didn’t waste any time looking out my window to see if I could see one! I know that you are supposed to stay away from all windows during a tornado and go to a safe place like a basement, storm cellar or interior room with no windows. I ran to our safe room and got under a sturdy table.
http://www.co.dodge.wi.us/emg/Sam%20The … Safety.pdf

By him setting us up on the MLS through his Realtor search we didn’t waste any time looking at homes
http://www.carlsbadcaliforniahomefinder … nials.aspx

By him setting us up on the MLS through his Realtor search we didn’t waste any time looking at homes that weren’t available.
http://www.carlsbadcaliforniahomefinder … nials.aspx

i generally trust her on all things food-related, so i wasted no time looking it up this evening.
http://waldiesworld.blogspot.com/2009/0 … bsite.html

Last edited by burred (2012-03-03 08:08:39)