Eggcorn Forum

I was hoping to find an example where garden angel might be considered an eggcorn, but I couldn’t locate such an example. It’s actually pretty tricky… One would have to hear the word “guardian angel” in it’s proper context and truly believe that “garden angel” is the proper term: If someone were to believe—in all honesty—that a garden angel provides protection of sorts, that might be one such context. But, alas, I haven’t located it.

Is it an eggcorn if some people use it intentionally & others dont?

That’s a great question. Usually what’s required is for someone to use the original term properly (not as a pun), and for the listener to misconstrue it on his/her own—and subsequently use it in a way not originally intended. If the “original” usage were a pun to begin with, then the listener didn’t really create the new meaning—the punster did.

That is not to say that the same construction cannot be both an eggcorn and a pun independently of one another. What is essential is that the eggcorn was generated under distinct circumstances where no pun was intended either by the original or the subsequent utterer.

I guess I’m not sure when a malopropism becomes an eggcorn?

A malapropism becomes an eggcorn when the accidental usage actually makes sense. I.e., the utterer of an eggcorn understands the meaning of every word he utters and the usage in the sentence makes sense. By contrast, malapropisms are accidental usages that are usually ludicrous because the utterer doesn’t realize he has switched a word with another one that has a different meaning from what he intends.

I think they understand the meaning of the word “garden”. But I don’t know why they think it makes sense to use it here.
“I really want to know who my garden angel is and also my guide…”
“…my mother is MY hero…she is my garden angel and I hope I can be her garden angel that day she needs ME, ...”
“shes my garden angel i no shes watching over me.”
(and- do people really not know that “no” isn’t “know”? or have we just become so lazy that it doesn’t matter?)

Your instinct here is correct; it is lazy writing. A while back, I proposed that “licker” was an eggcorn of “liquor,” and later someone correctly pointed out that he thought it was actually eye dialect. Which is to say, when people either don’t know the correct spelling—or are too lazy to care—they might write words that read the way the actual words would sound.

Last edited by jorkel (2007-03-04 23:42:14)

The sweet attentions of Cathetel.

“Cathetel – This guardian angel of the garden increases the growth and yield of vegetables and fruits and keeps them healthy and flourishing. Cathetel inspires the human race to love and appreciate all of the beings of nature. When we grow in respect and reverence for nature we can attain harmony with our own natures as well. ”