Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
I heard a non-native speaker of English say this today, and found a few examples on the Web. There are probably many more, but a search for “Catch 20/20” or “20-20” mostly yields examples like “Did you catch “20/20” last night?”
Here’s one example:
Hi Everyone,
I am in a catch 20/20. I have recently (4-5months) ago started a job, however, the job is in the financial field (which I can’t stand). In the meantime, I have been going part-time/evening for my master’s in information systems. Right now, I am considering quitting my day job and going for the master’s full-time.
This is an interesting eggcorn, because the “22” of “Catch 22” is perfectly arbitrary, and the arbitrariness is the point. There are no Catches 1-21. (In fact, Heller’s working title was “Catch 18.”) So “Catch 20/20” is a fairly desperate attempt to attribute a meaning, any meaning, to a deliberately meaningless phrase.
It’s also pretty funny.
David
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“Catch 18”?! Really? I think ol’ Joe made the right decision, but then again the alternate-world me might have been saying that if 18 had been the final choice.
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Hi, Pat! It wasn’t Joe, it was his publisher. I understand the change was made because Catch-22 was coming out at the same time as Leon Uris’s “Mila 18”, about the Warsaw Ghetto. But you’re right, Catch-18 is unthinkable somehow.
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Since we’re on the subject of 20/20. I wonder if the number repetition ever leads to a mixup with 50/50?
I get over 300 examples of “hindsight is 50/50” ...which has a dual interpretation, but I think the usages are mainly wordplay…
hindsight is 50/50 – Robs’ Blog
hindsight is 50/50. after finishing my stint in the coast guard, i worked at moran towing for … hindsight is 50/50. here are a couple that i’ve made up: ...
blogs.sun.com/robsblog/entry/hindsight_is_50_50 – 21k – Similar pages
http://blogs.sun.com/robsblog/entry/hindsight_is_50_50
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Joerkel – This is brilliant!
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