Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
You are not logged in.
Registrations are currently closed because of a technical problem. Please send email to
The forum administrator reserves the right to request users to plausibly demonstrate that they are real people with an interest in the topic of eggcorns. Otherwise they may be removed with no further justification. Likewise, accounts that have not been used for posting may be removed.
Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
In the 1950’s there were people in small town central Illinois who said “bluecoat” for “glucose” and pronounced “penicilin” “penicilum.” I don’t know whether those usages still exist or have passed out through time and public familiarity with these medications. People of a certain age and poorly educated commonly said someone was in the hospital receiving “bluecoat and penicillum.”
Another class, another word: an upper middle class high school senior in the 1950’s told my mother, who had said someone was a glutton for punishment, that she too was “glutting for punishment.” People commonly put an “a” sound before a verb – “I’m a-goin’ somewhere.” and left off the final “g” of the verb. This young woman assumed that that was what speakers were doing when they said ” a glutton for punishment.”
I don’t know whether this is the sort of entry that fits in at all. Someone will edit it. But I hate to see particularly the first usage entirely lost to time!
Offline
Welcome to the Eggcorn Forum, englishteach/socialworker!
It is okay to mention various substitutions even if they aren’t eggcorns. These that you mention are interesting, especially the idea of people assuming the ”- on” ending of glutton is a truncated ”- ing” verb suffix. I will be on the lookout for other examples of this error, with or without the colloquial “a -” prefix. Could there be some context in which someone thinks, e.g., that “mutton” is “mutting” or “coffin” is “coughing” or “boffin” is (ahem) “boffing”?
Offline