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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Google counts on July 14, 2007
87,700 “Stranded on a deserted island”
200,000 “Stranded on a desert island”
Analysis by Joe Krozel
The Wikipedia article on “Deserted island” starts:
A deserted island (also known as a ‘desert island’) is simply any uninhabited island: the word “desert” in this context is an adjective meaning “desolate and sparsely occupied or unoccupied,” and does not imply arid desert climate.[1] Such islands are commonly invoked in metaphor, literature, and the popular imagination.
Even so, I wonder how many people who utter “desert island” envision an island so small that the sand on the beach covers the entire island and gives it the appearance of a desert. And here, the freedoms and restrictions of a “deserted” island are just as real.
Examples:
a sibilant intake of breath » Blog Archive » Desert Island Discs… bring along to soften the experience of being stranded on a desert island: .... an island (I imagine a single hump of sand, round, with a palm tree). ...
www.sindark.com/2006/08/29/desert-island-discs/ – 31k – Cached – Similar pages
If you was stranded on a desert islandIf you was stranded on a desert island Posted: Dec 28, 2006, 11:37 PM EST. id have too much fun making sand castles to want to leave. everyones welcome to …
www.singlesinpennsylvania.com/pennsylva … 2510-2.htm – 25k – Cached – Similar pages
The Longstockings: QoW: From Guest Blogger, Justine Larbalestier!Question of the Week: You’re about to be stranded on a desert island and …. I’d write haiku in the sand, and then every morning it could be washed away. ...
thelongstockings.blogspot.com/2007/06/qow-from-guest-blogger-justine.html – 43k – Cached – Similar pages
Review: The Economist Newspaper North AmericaI mean, if I were ever stranded on a desert island like the people from that showLost, and some genie or mirage/hallucination of a DHL delivery guy gave me …
www.yelp.com/biz/V18yXwB2nw6D74XWSt1wZg … lMAfmv8… – Similar pages
The First Good Beer Blog Contest Of 2007 | A Good Beer BlogThe three bottles of beer you would want if stranded on a desert island and why. ... Desert island doesn’t have to mean sand and a single tree (ala the …
beerblog.genx40.com/archives/2007/february/thefirstgood – 51k – Cached – Similar pages
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jorkel, would this be a “stealth eggcorn”? I get the exact imagery stated with “desert island”. If the island is large and lush, I’ve always thought “deserted” should be used. Once again, I discover that I’m a secret carrier.
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Even though “desert” might sound incorrect relative to “deserted,” these two adjectives appear to be interchangable. (Or should I be calling “deserted” a past participle?) Meriam Webster even mentions “a desert island” as an example of it’s usage. Given that and people’s mistaken imagery with it, I’d probably label “desert island” a stealth eggcorn as you suggest booboo.
Last edited by jorkel (2007-07-14 16:58:48)
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