Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
I’m finding this mostly in the form of “shuck responsibilityâ€, which is how I originally heard it over thirty years ago. There are plenty of newer examples (thank you, Google):
Some will read this as an attempt to shuck responsibility for past exploitation of the “Anything But Microsoft†crowd and its fixation with Redmond’s maneuverings by sniffing in disdain and claiming the eyeballs made us do it.
http://www.linuxtoday.com/news_story.ph … 0-OP-CY-MS
But politicians make matters worse when they become defensive in the face of scandal and when they try to shift blame and shuck responsibility instead of doing what’s right.
http://media.www.dailytexanonline.com/m … 3372.shtml
Players like second baseman Eric Young, who has been most outspoken in blaming the players for Lopes’ demise, don’t want it to appear as if they are shucking responsibility for the franchise-worst start.
http://www2.jsonline.com/sports/brew/apr02/37033.asp
I can see how this substitution came to be. “Shirk†is not as familiar a word as “shuck†and is most often used in expressions like “shirk one’s duty†or “shirking responsibility.†The substitution of “shuckâ€, with its connotations of peeling off and discarding—ridding oneself of responsibility—makes a certain kind of sense. Actually, it makes me think of an insect molting.
Might this be an eggcorn?
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Personally, I think it’s a great find, and your explanation is quite
convincing.
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A good example of eggcorn, I’d say! —Lisa
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I also found some some references for ‘chuck responsibility’ (‘chuck’ meaning to throw or toss aside.):
They voted for this mess, and in many cases demanded action, then decide to chuck responsibility when there are issues.
www.startribune.com/blogs/kersten/?p=165
There are days I wish I could chuck responsibility and be lazy..
forums.ebay.com/db1/thread.jspa?threadID=410460641&start=40
I don’t mean to say “chuck responsibility, everyone should be knocked up now regardless of being overdrawn at the bank” but if you’re already…
kvetch.indiebride.com/index.php?t=msg&th=1934&start=40&rid=0&S=521743277f36fff49f97db180f
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Yea! Best one in a while. It illustrates the funny twists we make in our minds. Juxtaposing something solemn like responsibility with something like corn shucks just cracks me up. I think it’s a better illustration of shirk than shirk! Ditto for chuck.
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