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#1 2009-08-23 18:16:30

patschwieterman
Administrator
From: California
Registered: 2005-10-25
Posts: 1680

"ball-point hammer" for "ball-peen hammer"

The OED defines a peen as “The end of a hammer head opposite the face”; a ball-peen hammer has a hemisphere where other types of hammer have pointy bits. “Ball-point hammer” works well because it acknowledges that the expected points are round on this tool – and it also replaces an increasingly obscure word with a common one. “Ball-point hammer” is pretty easy to find – I got over 200 ughits using various spellings—so I was wondering whether there was a tool legitimately called the “ball point hammer.” But all the pictures on online tool sites look like ball-peens to me : http://www1.au.shopping.com/-ball+point+hammer+ridgit (If you’re willing to wait a minute, you can click on the picture, and (eventually) get larger, individual pictures of ball-point hammers.)

Ken posted on the “ball-ping hammer” quite some time ago, but the semantic underpinnings for the two are quite different: http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=268

Examples:

If everything is minty fresh, assemble chain together via included master link, and ‘peen over’ the ends of the link using a ball point hammer. make sure you peen it good and plenty, you don’t want it coming apart.
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/archi … 43041.html
[Interestingly, the writer is familiar with the probably-related verb “to peen,” but doesn’t sense a connection with the name of the tool.]

That time, I got beaten with a ball point hammer.
http://www.lindavdahl.com/Bio%20Pages/A.Silva.bio.htm

Mr Batty said Allen killed his wife sometime after 8.30 on the evening of July 9 and the following day he rained 20 blows on her head with a ball point hammer while she was lying on a bed.
http://www.wiki-north-east.co.uk/article.aspx?id=142685

imagines the usefulness of a ball point hammer
That’d be a Ball Pein hammer (Or Peen if you’re Amurkin)
http://www2b.abc.net.au/science/techtal … 84584.shtm
[Like me, this person is skeptical that “ball point hammer” is a standard word. S/he considers the spelling “peen” Amurkin, but the OED considers it the standard, and lists “pein” as a northern English regional variant.]

[Later edit: Everyone politely refrained from pointing out that I’d totally messed up the links for this post; they are (I think) fixed now.]

Last edited by patschwieterman (2009-08-24 14:22:56)

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#2 2009-08-24 10:07:40

nilep
Eggcornista
Registered: 2007-03-21
Posts: 291

Re: "ball-point hammer" for "ball-peen hammer"

patschwieterman quoted:

If everything is minty fresh, assemble chain together via included master link, and ‘peen over’ the ends of the link using a ball point hammer. make sure you peen it good and plenty, you don’t want it coming apart.
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/archi … 43041.html
[Interestingly, the writer is familiar with the probably-related verb “to peen,” but doesn’t sense a connection with the name of the tool.]

Wow, that’s a fascinating mis-match. I don’t know whether it strengthens the over-all eggcornity (though I’d think it must, since it shows that the speaker has both forms & presumably their meanings in his/her mental lexicon), but it is a beautiful illustration of the less-than-totally-rational nature of language knowledge.

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#3 2009-08-24 10:38:10

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

Re: "ball-point hammer" for "ball-peen hammer"

“Ball-point hammer” occurs on the web at about the same frequency as Ken’s ball-ping hammer.

“Ball pen hammer” seems to be equally common. Is “ball pen” perhaps more common in the UK than “ball point?” (“Biro” is the standard UK term, I think.)

I also see about a dozen examples of “bald peen hammer,” which appears to be another eggcorn (the round end of the hammer presumably reminding the speaker/writer of a bald head). But not so good an eggcorn as “ball-point hammer”-”peen,” a word on its last legs in English, is the part of the phrase that begs to be eggcorned.

There is one example of “bald point hammer.” Is this an eggcorn of an eggcorn?

Last edited by kem (2009-08-24 11:28:12)


Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.

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#4 2009-08-24 11:44:57

Peter Forster
Eggcornista
From: UK
Registered: 2006-09-06
Posts: 1222

Re: "ball-point hammer" for "ball-peen hammer"

Being of the pein persuasion I was astonished to find the rest of the world thinks it’s peen, and submit the homophonic “ball pain hammer” – though one hardly seems the remedy for the other. The verb, as in Pat’s first example, remains intact.

... old chain with a grinder or hacksaw and put the new comp link on with mole grips and peen the rivets with a ball pain hammer fiddly but does the trick …

picked up so far say to weld about an inch at a time and then peen the weld with a ball pain hammer before it cools. Any other hints or tips? Thanks Paul. ...

length 20mm and peen the weld with a ball pain hammer as it cools gently preheat the block before welding, shovel man. ..

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#5 2015-04-17 16:36:27

burred
Eggcornista
From: Montreal
Registered: 2008-03-17
Posts: 1112

Re: "ball-point hammer" for "ball-peen hammer"

Somebody had to go there.

The handles are cast bronze so dont force it !! I ended up tapping mine with a ball penis hammer and they moved.
yacht forum

dead blow or ball penis hammer. Hit it until its near flush and on the last bit you can hit it knock the piss outta it.
Car repair forum

hit it with that big ol’ 24 oz. ball penis hammer you have in your tool box.
Testing your nitro

i used a big-ass punch and a few hard hits of the ball penis hammer and they popped right out.
truck repair forum

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#6 2015-04-18 08:38:26

Peter Forster
Eggcornista
From: UK
Registered: 2006-09-06
Posts: 1222

Re: "ball-point hammer" for "ball-peen hammer"

Somebody had to go there.

Ah yes, but few of us could suspend disbelief long enough to look for it. Great find. All I can do is add a little colour:

I’m going to assemble the major components and meld them together. Unfortunately some of the massaging is going to be performed with a 24 ounce ball paint hammer ha.

“Some examples are insuring cars with prior damage, listed a car stolen, torture, using a hammer as hail damage. Ball paint hammer has been a pretty common tool, but experts can tell if it’s a fraud,” Copeland said.

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#7 2015-04-19 02:18:40

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

Re: "ball-point hammer" for "ball-peen hammer"

Eggcorn, or just a load of bull?

Fretz Extra Large Bull Peen Hammer
tool catalog

Heat where the mark is at…and with a bull peen hammer give it a whack on the heated spot, wrap the area with some heat shield tape…
Dodge discussion

You’ll probably need a bull peen hammer, a deadblow hammer, a center punch,
a scriber (carbide is not necessary, but nice) a good set of hex keys…
list of tools

And:

Yes he’s a heel, as for why because he apparently felt disrespected due to getting DQed in a match with Knucks thanks to using the A&8’s bull pen hammer…
wrestling discussion

Take the tier off and get you a big punch and a 2 or 3 pound sledge hammer or a large bullpen hammer.
Q&A site

Then check square and I can normally tap it with a bullpen hammer or just use my hands to pull it s quare.
welding tip

But before the sun gets too high in the July sky and its rays beat down like a bullpen hammer on a piece of sheet metal, Edwards will back off to deep water…
fishing discussion

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#8 2016-04-10 17:39:25

David Bird
Eggcornista
From: The Hammer, Ontario
Registered: 2009-07-28
Posts: 1690

Re: "ball-point hammer" for "ball-peen hammer"

Got those swivel wrenches and many other ALFA tools. BUT the tool I use a lot is my tiny bald bean hammer, maybe I’m a Neanderthal.
Car n tool enthusiasts

Hmm, the resemblance to an aged hobbit pate is uncanny. Shoulda gone into my april nonces file, however. Here’s a couple that are on their way to baldness.

I then tap (with a ball bean Hammer) the cut end of the shaft to create a flange with no rough edges.
Fishin’ tips

It was mentioned I wouldn’t have to get it too hot if I welded the area slow…...almost like…..tack welding…... and pinging the weld (ball bean HAMMER)..
Weldin’ tips

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#9 2016-04-10 20:07:49

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

Re: "ball-point hammer" for "ball-peen hammer"

Y’all didn’t think we’ve exhausted all the variations of this one yet, did you?

You maim and paralyze someone you get a baleen hammer to whatever area of your body that your victim had injured.
crime and punishment

we bash in their heads with a baleen hammer pluck out their eyes…
song lyric

Phantom ray is a floppy mess, Uranos’ face looks like someone took a baleen hammer to it, and his head is floating two inches off his shoulders…
toy talk

a sprayed finish that has the appearance of small indentations in the metal (as if struck by a baleen hammer)...
casket talk

But the film has the subtlety of a baleen hammer…
movie review

I remember caving in a guys skull with a baleen hammer oncee.
gamer talk

You know, another way to keep him quiet would have been to use a baleen hammer on his forehead.
blog comment

I don’t know if people are supposing that a hammer can be made of baleen, or that there’s a certain type of hammer made for working baleen, or…?

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#10 2016-04-10 20:25:31

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

Re: "ball-point hammer" for "ball-peen hammer"

And yet another:

Ball peeing hammer blows might tend to make small anti-dents, which is not really what you want.
auto body discussion

Don’t know what it is about Ball Peen (Pein, Pean) Hammers. It’s my favorite tool name. As a kid, I heard it as Ball Peeing Hammer.
blog comment

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#11 2016-04-10 21:01:34

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

Re: "ball-point hammer" for "ball-peen hammer"

Ouch!

the top corners of the airbox were touching the sides of the tank so i warmed the area up and using a ball pain hammer made a dished reccess.
motorcycle repair

To avoid the nails loosing the nails should be driven thru the bands out the far side and riveted at the other end by using a ball pain hammer.
more motorcycle repair

now if you hit directly on that I guess the point of impact would be focused. A bit like hitting it with a ball pain hammer but then you need to take the dissipation of the blow through the plastic base then into the tape.
helmet discussion

to get the two way curve just pound the piece on a tree stump with a ball pain hammer ,then Finnish it over a dolly then ,roll the bead ,or hammer it over the edge of a block of steel with a good edge
car talk

Plus there are lots of “ball pain hammer” references in tool catalogues. Perhaps some perps are visualizing something similar to accidentally hitting one’s thumb with a hammer?

AND, here’s a bonus:

Not a whole lot to say about a hammer, however as far as ball peon hammers go in the 16oz variety, this one is sweet.
hammer review

Three products are being offered as part of the new Roughneck ‘Anti-vibe’ hammer range – a claw hammer, a roofer’s hammer and a ball peon hammer.
sales rap

He tells me he smashed it with a ball peon hammer.
blog

I must share with you that right there at the end when Dr. Phil suggests to the parent about a ball peon hammer my 9 yr. old began to laugh as I did as well.
cell phone complaint

Get a good drift pin and a nice small ball-peon hammer…
engine talk

Someone could be associating tools such as hammers with jobs done by peons, no?

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#12 2016-05-03 16:46:40

David Bird
Eggcornista
From: The Hammer, Ontario
Registered: 2009-07-28
Posts: 1690

Re: "ball-point hammer" for "ball-peen hammer"

Great additions, dix. Peter had already brought us ball pain, btw, way up top somewhere.

Here’s an exchange that is not eggcorny, just illustrates the frailty of logic.

OP: Go to Home Depot and get yourself a medium sized ball peen hammer.
R1: Since you’d only be using the peen end, wouldn’t a claw peen hammer, which pretty much everyone already owns, do just as well?
R2: Claw peen hammer, no such thing.
R1: I stand corrected. I just assumed (incorrectly) that the ball was on one end, so the other must be a “peen.”
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic … JCpnXDDJbM

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#13 2016-05-04 05:48:27

DavidTuggy
Eggcornista
From: Mexico
Registered: 2007-10-11
Posts: 2714
Website

Re: "ball-point hammer" for "ball-peen hammer"

Awesome. Perfectly logical, and I never would have thought it. <i>Ball peen</i> = ‘ball-and-peen’, not <i>claw peen</i> = ‘having a claw on the peen end’. I am in awe.


*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .

(Possible Corollary: it is, and we are .)

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