Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
My grandpa says “evasive species” all the time. I don’t know if he doesn’t know the difference between “invasive” and “evasive”, or if he thinks the weeds are running away from him.
“Evasive species control is important and a handle item for environmentalists which maintain we help spread these species by transporting the seeds in our tire treads.”
http://www.wohva.net/phpbbpublic/viewto … cebac389b8
“It is called evasive species. OGT was ordered by the state to cut the trees due to spreading. If you will notice the grass by the vortex area is all brown, for the same reason.”
http://www.omba.org/forum/viewtopic.php … 82d575e2a2
“12 applications have been received for removal of evasive species.”
http://www.mrnrd.org/downloads/minutes/ … -13-07.pdf
1170 Google hits for it.
Arbor
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I like the implication that these pests and critters are difficult to hunt down and eradicate!
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There is a chiropractor here in Cincinnati whose command of English isn’t quite complete. She used to have a radio ad that talked about a non-evasive procedure she used. I hope all medical procedures are non-evasive, since the other kind never seem to get near the problem!
“I always wanted to be somebody. I should have been more specific.” – Lily Tomlin
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gib wrote:
I like the implication that these pests and critters are difficult to hunt down and eradicate
Especially since many of these pests are plants. (If you’ve ever tried to rid your area of tamarisk or Chinese tallow, you know they can seem as evasive as they are invasive.)
With that in mind, I think this clearly qualifies as an eggcorn!
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I guess I’d call this an eggcorn because the utterer understands the difference between “evasive” and “invasive” and truly believes the former to be the proper term.
The only caution I raise on this one is the prefix issue. The substituting of e- for in- here opens the door to a lot of other (more questionable) eggcorn candidates. If one thinks of the long list of prefixes available for use, there are probably a number of prefix pairs that get routinely confused. This includes inter-/intra-, ex-/extra-, super-/supra- and many others. These are mostly the source of malapropisms in which the prefix is not understood. So, I’m always cautious about labeling prefix switches as eggcorns.
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Maybe a “non-evasive” medical pocedure means “You not getting out of this one. We MUST operate!” Ha,ha!
Could this be an example of intentional replacement recently discussed? Folk etymology?
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