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Chris -- 2018-04-11

#1 2015-07-20 03:41:44

crispybacon
Member
From: Wellington, New Zealand
Registered: 2015-07-19
Posts: 24

Deathcom levels

Hello,

Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

I overheard (what I thought was) “Deathcom 5” in the office one day, and it makes sense to me as an eggcorn for “Defcon”. The Defcon system is ultimately all about imminent danger to life, so the “death” part is pretty self-explanatory. As for “com”, well the state of heightened alert needs to be communicated in some way, and the -com ending is extremely common in company names, .com domains, and so on.
Both the “Deathcom” and “Deathcon” variants show up in Google.
Many people assume that Defcon 5 is the highest level, when in fact 1 is. That’s hardly surprising when you think of category 5 hurricanes or tornadoes.

Some examples:

We were pretty excited for a beach day on the Indian Ocean, but unfortunately it was DeathCom 5 and the sand was pelting us in the legs.
http://flyingsouthtoafrica.tumblr.com/p … 9/st-lucia (some nice pictures there too!)
This blogger actually mentions category 5 tornadoes a couple of sentences later.

Yes, some slip-ups are inconsequential while others are Deathcom 1 scenarios — but it is up to you to make sure your Millennials understand you have their back, while clearly defining safe places to play.
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/making-m … lor-wilson

When you have one destroy as many things as I did yea you would go deathcom 5!!! And scream, IT PUTS THE LOTION ON….
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/archi … 01103.html

What does Deathcon 5 mean?
thats defcon. term used when our leaders get jittery when russia china or other world powers pass gas and their spy satellites hear it and take pictures of the individual.
http://www.chacha.com/question/what-doe … con-5-mean

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#2 2015-07-20 11:39:37

kem
Eggcornista
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2007-08-28
Posts: 2851

Re: Deathcom levels

That’s a great eggcorn, crispy. You should come out of the woodwork more often.

A large number of English speakers refer to defcon (DEFense readiness CONdition) as defCOM. Perhaps because it is a COMmunication, a signal? There are even a few examples of “deathcom,” the combination of both misunderstandings. (“Deathcom,” I would have thought, is what the grim ripper whispers in your ear.)

The misperception of acronyms seems to me to be a kind of hidden eggcorn. Or, in some cases, even a non-hidden eggcorn (haywire for AWOL, for example). See earlier discussion of acronyms at http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=5543 “Defcon,” of course, is not a full-on acronym. More of a tomonym.

Last edited by kem (2015-07-20 11:56:05)


Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.

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#3 2015-07-20 17:47:10

crispybacon
Member
From: Wellington, New Zealand
Registered: 2015-07-19
Posts: 24

Re: Deathcom levels

Thanks kem. The forum was closed to new business for over four years, and there didn’t seem to be any way around that. I saw something eggcornish online yesterday that prompted me to come here again, and to my surprise I could register. I’ve got one or two more eggcorns (and maybe reshapings that aren’t actually eggcorns) up my sleeve.
Thanks for those links to other eggcorns – everything on this site seems to be interrelated somehow.
I’ve never heard of a tomonym (although it’s clear what you mean by that). Toponym and homonym, yes, but not tomonym. Is it a joke I’m not getting?!

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#4 2015-07-21 09:33:21

kem
Eggcornista
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2007-08-28
Posts: 2851

Re: Deathcom levels

Sorry, should have made it clear I was neologising. I’ve never quite figured out what a degree in classics is good for, other than to add opaque Latin and Greek derivations to the English wordhoard. Acronymns extract the tips (akros) of words, tomonymns cut out (tomos) parts of words.


Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.

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#5 2015-07-21 10:26:11

Dixon Wragg
Eggcornista
From: Cotati, California
Registered: 2008-07-04
Posts: 1375

Re: Deathcom levels

kem wrote:

...tomonymns cut out (tomos) parts of words.

That suggests an amusing fake etymology for “tomahawk”.

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#6 2015-09-24 15:30:40

.NetRolller 3D
Member
Registered: 2010-12-10
Posts: 15

Re: Deathcom levels

Interesting. The logic behind 5 being peace and 1 being nuclear warfare is that “defcon” is short for “defense condition”. In peacetime, the nation’s defense capabilities are in top condition for the threat level experienced. As war looms, the conditions deteriorate.

Someone who no longer thinks of DEFCON as a condition assessment would therefore be more inclined to think that a higher number means more danger.

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