Eggcorn Forum

My daughter has discovered 3 good eggcorns

1st is underlining for underlying, as in “underlining issue”(2040 hits) vs. “underlying issue” (414,000 hits).

Examples;

I know candida is not to blame, becuase there is an underlining problem allowing candida to get out of control, but until I correct the underlining issue, ...
herballure.com/ubbthreads/newreply.php?

Underlining issue. Drive Slow. Local road construction on Highway 95 is causing … With this in consideration, the underlining issue here is whether the …
drive-slow.blogspot.com/ – 22k – Supplemental Result

He is obviously doing everything he has done so far for limelight, only a doctor that spends some time with him can say what the underlining issue is a …
www.thegossipfix.com/2007/05/17/dustin- … mind/feed/

The interesting thing to me is that the “lying” of “underlying” is neither rare nor archaic. Nevertheless, I believe the same eggcorn principles are at work here: first exposure to the word perhaps misheard, yet eggcorn “lining” makes sense in the context. Think of it this way: the “lining”, as in a pool, is what’s really holding everything up; it is the foundation of the observable or superficial.

This example, and the next 2 submissions were heard on TV a couple of days ago. Internet research, I believe, is backing these up as good observations.

Thanks