Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2025-05-10
From the 2006/2009 post on “wheelbarrel”:
JonW719 wrote:
I just came across this one today on Craigslist (see? It really is a great source for reshapings):
Free peat gravel. Used for swing set play area. Size covering estimate 7-8 square yards by 6 inches deep. Bring wheel barrel.
I avoided bumping this aged post, but didn’t see anyone notice “peat gravel” in the thread. Could that be eggcorny as peat is another common landscaping word, or is this a case where nobody actually thinks the gravel is made of or meant to associate with peat?
Here’s a do-it-yourself blog that makes the substitution twice and doesn’t seem to explain it away (or use peat in the construction): http://designingdomesticity.blogspot.co … ow-to.html
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I can see a few substitutions of “peat gravel” for “pea gravel.” There don’t seem to be very many on the web.
At this low frequency, it may be a simple misspelling. But it could also be a DNA replacement, where users have a category in their mental lexicon of “bulk items I buy at a nursery/landscaping store” and have melded two of the items.
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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So many people think it’s pee gravel, especially if their dog uses it to store mail, that it might be some kind of brand name.
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