Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
‘Grist’ could scarcely survive if it weren’t so closely attached to the mill. Entirely understandable then that it might be interpreted as ‘grease’ – all that heavy machinery must surely need regular and copious oiling? Only 3 googlehits and here they are:
Shabangu knows that he is not prepared to come and add grease to the mill. He is not prepared to make a statement that because of a problem in the political …
www.doj.gov.za/trc/amntrans/nel/skosana2.htm – 114k – Cached
work as the grease to the mill of the economic development of the Knowledge Society. Yet. other technological wizardry has also been proposed as an answer …
www.ias.unu.edu/binaries2/IASWorkingPaper135.pdf
clearly one of those instances which actually gives grease to the mill of those who. see Parliament as a waste of time. I extend the point made by Sen. ...
www.ttparliament.org/hansard/senate/2006/hs20060919.pdf
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I’ve heard the saying only as “grist for the mill” here in the US, never heard it phrased with “TO the,” so I googled “grease for the mill” and got a hit, so there’s an eggcorn there too. Googling “Grist for the mill,” by the way, seems to confirm that it’s the accepted American version, even some books bear that title.
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I think I have an old posting of ‘grits for the mill,’ but this one is at least as nice.
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I got 25 hits for “gristle for the mill.” A pretty icky picture, if you ask me. I assume that the people who are discussing vegetarianism or Hannibal Lecter are using “gristle” punningly, but some of them look authentic.
And here’s a pointer to that Ken Lakritz “grits for the mill” post:
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This is interesting because grist is described on Wikipedia as grain ready for or which has been milled.
It suggests saying something is `grist for the mill’ means everything can be made useful, or be a source of profit.
But, in Australia at least, it seems to sometimes be used to describe something which would actually make the mill work.
For example, “The new evidence provided grist for the mill (aided his argument).”
I was also under the impression grist was actually used to aid the milling or grinding process in the form of small rocks or other coarse material to help the mill do its job.
Any supporters out there?
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