Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2025-05-10
my texan boyfriend continually speaks in eggcorns – although i have only just been able to identify this since listening to radio 4 last night and hearing about this site – for example instead of saying “i reckon” he says (somewhat crudely) “i rectum” there are many others of this ilk but that’s certainly the most common
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I don’t think your example really qualifies as an eggcorn unless your boyfriend really thinks that “I rectum” is the “real” version. More likely, he’s a slightly crude fellow with a penchant for bathroom humor.
Which isn’t to say that some “Texanisms” aren’t eggcorns. Continue to post them as you hear them…
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I heard a lot of them during the short time I lived in Texas too. (Also from my mother’s Texan ex-husband.) Texas does generate a lot of eggcorns.
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Any schooled grammarian can tell you that “I rectum” was the original usage. Linguistic laziness is to fault for the drift away from that pure, ancient expression. So kudos (or ”(ra)coon toes” as it goes in the original) to your Texan boyfriend.
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