Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
I can’t seem to find a google hit for this, mostly because it’s just really difficult to search for.
But I was Senior Consumer Affairs rep. for Fisher-Price for several years, and I heard this one countless times.
People would call in and explain that their product “has a default,” meaning defect. Clearly they were mixing up defect and faulty.
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Not an eggcorn but a malapropism since the utterers do not literally mean “has a default” when they say it. That is, they really intend to say “has a defect” and simply chose the wrong word.
Clearly there are some products (like TVs) which have default settings, and it would be amusing if someone were to call in to complain about that (as if it were a “defect”), but the amusement one would get out of this construction is typical of better malapropisms.
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jorkel wrote:
Not an eggcorn but a malapropism since the utterers do not literally mean “has a default” when they say it. That is, they really intend to say “has a defect” and simply chose the wrong word.
Clearly there are some products (like TVs) which have default settings, and it would be amusing if someone were to call in to complain about that (as if it were a “defect”), but the amusement one would get out of this construction is typical of better malapropisms.
Um, ok.
How about the one or two who actually said something was “defaulty?”
Last edited by Craig C Clarke (2007-04-09 21:12:52)
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Craig C Clarke wrote…
How about the one or two who actually said something was “defaulty?â€
Hmmmmm… I’m beginning to understand the case you are making for an eggcorn. I previously overlooked the fact that “default” is being used like “fault” (which only became clear when you mentioned “defaulty.”) In essence, “default” has become a blend of “defect” and “fault.” The shift of imagery seems to be there, and the utterer thinks the new imagery is the correct one, so it looks like it passes the basic eggcorn tests. Nice.
Last edited by jorkel (2007-04-10 08:52:08)
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Googling, I see that some legal documents include the phrase “defect or default” as though they are similar in meaning. Maybe they’re right, but dictionaries don’t seem to back them up.
“Defaulty” has many Ghits, mostly errors for “default” by people who know the word “faulty”. There’s also a few people who think it’s the adverb form of “default”. :)
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