Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
There’s a spouse lurking in espouse. It first meant “to marry” before becoming associated with the proselytizing of those wed to a cause or a philosophy, prone to spouting their opinions. Espouts might be a metathesis of espoused. It might also be a blend of spout and espouse.
I guess I’m not a purist and fundamentalist when it comes to the “all inclusiveness” that you espout.
https://community.fantasyflightgames.co … edi/page-4
I think this is natural. Why wouldn’t you espout the virtues of something you know for certain is a good deal?
https://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess- … s-going-on
they had their snotty little faces smacked about a bit by almost all, for even suggesting the radical things you espout.
https://www.redtape.ru/forum/showthread … ent/page13
His business model depends on convincing conservatives that he’s a hard-lining right-wing religious nutbag. Even if he doean’t really believe in the bullshit he espouts, he’ll be ruined financially if he relents.
https://www.reddit.com/r/bestof/comment … _proud_of/
Or maybe they’re just typos, so I put this one here.
Last edited by David Bird (2016-11-05 10:07:24)
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A very nice find, and your last example works best; there are more like it, for example:
This old woman and that young woman support a candidate who literally espouts Marxist socialist values and that ALWAYS leads to equality …
For someone who espouts the virtues of love and kindness, this “Isobel” sure does try and incite a lot of anger.
It seems an unlikely kind of typo to me. I vote eggcorn.
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Wow. Great find.
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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Way back in 2002 my sister sent me this:
[man to wife:] Quit spousing off at the mouth!
It seems likely that there’s a connection in people’s minds between the married state and feeling free to express one’s convictions and/or opinions freely and forcefully, and let the shoe fall where it fits. (That last phrase was apparently spoused forth by the same gentlemanly individual.)
[published, I believe:] Adam Smith videotaped himself going through the drive-thru ordering only free water and espousing his disgust.
Somehow feels like exposing your opinions, or others to your opinions, or something of the sort, may be involved as well.
Last edited by DavidTuggy (2021-08-06 16:32:48)
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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