Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
I googled ‘clam down’ thinking that it might be an eggcorn of ‘clamp down.’ Much to my surprise,it isn’t. Instead, it’s a very common (>20,000 ghit) substitute for ‘calm down.’ I realize that clams are about the most tranquil animals in existence, but ‘calm down’ seems too simple a phrase to eggcorn. Is this an idiom I’m just unaware of? Examples:
I understand you may be frustrated, but you have to clam down.
forum.digital-digest.com/archive/index.php/t-64851.html
Go to a quite place where you can clam down and regroup, do not bring a cell phone or an equipment that may disturb your serenity.
business.articles-and.info/ezineready.php?id=4486
Clam down. Breathe slowly. Count to ten. Take a cold wash cloth and put across your head. you should feel better now. Clam down. Breathe slowly.
bainbridgega.com/talkwp/?feed=rss2&p=375
“I need ten minutes to clam down,” he told us.
aoskoli.blogspot.com/2007/03/talladega-nights.html
If you met an alien being…I would hope that we can all clam down, take into account that first contact is going to happen and act accordingly, without panic and without rudeness.
www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread291914/pg2
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That’s a lot of ghits, but I have to think that a lot of occurrences are just transposition typos. Without hearing it spoken, it’s hard to know what’s going on.
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I vote for simple typos as well.
Though I remember that, when I was a kid, we had a book w/ piano music for Burl Ives songs. In there was the song “Streets of Laredo.”
The narrator spies the cowpuncher all wrapped in white linen.
The cowpuncher, who admits he is “shot in the breast an’ I know I must die,” calls out to him. And the lyrics in that book said:
“I see by your outfit that you are a cowboy.”
These words he did say as I clamly walked by.
I figured, I’d feel pretty clammy too if a dying man was trying to get me to talk to him.
(most places have “boldy walked by,” but it was “clamly” in my book, and CowboyLyrics.com uses “calmly” andlists a copyright in 1969 by Lewis Music Publishing Co, and gives address, etc., which makes it seem trustworthy)
Last edited by TootsNYC (2007-08-10 10:29:24)
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“Clam UP” is an extremely common phrase for “being quite” (171k raw hits). I think it somewhat plausible to have a “subliminal eggcorn” here. After all, telling someone to “calm down” or “be quiet (clam up)” are often used in the exact same circumstance. That, and the imagery of “happy as a clam” comes to mind; a very content and quiet creature.
Still, I concede suzie creamcheese’s point. Many examples are clearly typos (I googled “clam yourself” and found 700+ hits, with several making fun of the fact that they typo-ed):
Clam yourself Emma, I think they were joking. Oh but imagine. ... Heehee just noticed I said CLAM yourself, not CALM. I could correct it, but I think I’ll …
liza-fatale.livejournal.com/ – 39k
or another example where it is obvious “calm” was meant:
A couple of things to try, First is (i know this is hard) but try and stay clam yourself. Little ones pick up on your anxity straight away and play on it. ...
www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/showthread.php?t=73776 – 54k
Anyway, as has been said, has anyone heard it in the wild? Or, does anyone have a better searching idea to differentiate?
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