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Chris -- 2018-04-11

#1 2017-11-21 06:05:53

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

"Sumerian" for "Samaritan"

if it was cash left there you know i would’ve pocketed it. since it was their card i figured i’d be a good sumerian.
ethics discussion

She gets to be a good Sumerian to Yuichi friend Shingo.
story synopsis

If I was feeling like a good Sumerian I would obviously go to Scripting Helpers; a separate subforum for good reason.
Nerdese

What a friendly good sumerian hacker he was.
sarcasm

Kuso Steak Vloz’Ress Jr. has prospered well in Kuso’s care his young fertile mind being filled with knowledge, classical works, and how to be a good sumerian to his fellow humes
story discussion

Not much needs to be said about this one, except that it’s a wonder it hasn’t been seen here yet. I suppose the fact that it involves proper names makes it a Lehmann, right?

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#2 2017-11-21 09:06:03

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

Re: "Sumerian" for "Samaritan"

Technically, a Lehman is a common noun that has become a proper noun (“layman’s terms” >> “Lehman’s terms”) and an Aunty Lehman is a proper noun that has become a common noun (“Ferris wheel” >> “fair’s wheel”). I don’t think we have a term for a proper to proper switch.

Arguably, though, this is an ordinary eggcorn. We could think of “samaritan” and “sumerian” as representing things/ideas—i.e., as once-proper nouns that have already been commonized.

“Sumerian” is, by the way, a DNA eggcorns. There is no shared meaning between “sumerian” and “samaritan.” They both relate to a third concept (the set “words relating to old Near Eastern cultures,” or something like that).

Several round-tripper examples also occur on the web. Here’s “Samaritan civilization” on a flash card: https://quizlet.com/51208199/history-101-flash-cards/


Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.

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