Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
Seen on Facebook: ‘Have you ever smelled someone’s breath and it was so horrible that it instantly made you subconscious about your own breath?”
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It’s certainly a widespread switch. A search for “subconscious about” and “subconcious about” turns up hundreds of hits, of which many or most are of the form to be subconscious about. My initial reaction was to welcome it as an eggcorn.
However, does it possess legitimate imagery that differs from the original usage? I see the imagery as a misunderstanding of “subconscious.” You’re not subconscious about your looks, unless you’re not aware of your discomfort. But surely you are. So perhaps this is more a classic malapropism than an eggcorn. It works only if the perps have redefined subconscious to mean “aware below the surface, privately mindful of.” That’s a possibility.
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