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Chris -- 2025-05-10
I was reading a news story on the victoriabuzz site this morning and came across a caption on a video that said “this video contains elicit language.â€
The writer meant “explicit language.†Perhaps just a word retrieval mistake. The confusion may be motivated by the verb-object combo “to elicit a response,†which is also about bringing hidden language into the light.
Not a lot of examples this mistake on the web. Here are some:
subsidy-published book: “cringing at the cacophony of elicit language.â€
title of a web forum thread: “warning..contains elicit language.â€
rules for submitting films to a website: “Films may not contain elicit language.â€
a page fronting a one-act play compilation: “for adults audience members only as it does contain elicit language.â€
a church movie rating site: “story lines laced with themes of lust, adultery anger and revenge, mixed with elicit language.â€
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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Illicit is likely involved as well. (Illiciting sex is relevant.) (It would be harder to find undeniable examples of “illicit language†< “explicit languageâ€, and I haven’t tried much.)
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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Maybe:
[avoid] excessive alcohol and drug use, be illicit about your intentions, make sure home is secure, carry alarm device, etc
Last edited by DavidTuggy (2021-03-27 19:06:48)
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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