Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2025-05-10
“Survival of the fetus” instead of “survival of the fittest”.
Most examples seem to be standard medical phrasing, with a few instances being deliberate puns and a few, as at the end of this quote, being possible eggcorns.
Cons – The management team can never agree on goals and procedures; decisions constantly shifts, just like the employees: 4 District Managers within one year period. When complaints come up, they get ignored; when things breaks to the point becoming hazardous, nor repairs or mendings take place until someone gets hurt. It is the perfect example of survival of the fetus.
From http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Housin … 328870.htm (login required)
Perhaps a mishearing by a non-native speaker of English. The workplace described above does sound like a place where the “fetus” (low-level employee or newbie) struggles daily in an chaotic, uncaring environment where few flourish for long.
Last edited by Azimuth (2013-10-29 12:58:07)
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Pretty funny reanalysis, and your explanation is logical if a bit of a stretch. I can see someone vaguely tying together reproductive biology and natural selection, and turning it around to invoke the uncertain survival of the weakest instead of the selection of the strongest. Two sides of the same coin after all.
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