Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
You are not logged in.
The Eggcorn Forum and the Eggcorn Database are currently in the process of being converted into static sites.
Once the conversion is complete, all existing posts are expected to still be accessible at their original URLs. However, no new posts will be possible.
Feel free to comment on the relevant forum threads.
Chris -- 2025-05-10
This showed up on A Word A Day, identified as a ‘malapropism’ – but it’s indeed an eggcorn, because the original word ‘bagatelle’ has been reanalyzed as English – and, as Philip Viener comments, ‘a whimsical quality that makes it equivalent to the original word.’
From: Philip Viener (keepervATatt.net)
Subject: Re: A.Word.A.Day—bagatelle
During this last American football season, I heard a television sports
commentator refer to the fine one player was assessed by the National
Football League for some on-field misconduct as being a “mere bag of shells” to
him. An amusing malapropism, but I did find myself liking the mis-spoken phrase.
There’s a certain whimsical quality that makes it equivalent to the
original word. Of course, in some cultures, a bag of shells would have
significant value, so it wouldn’t work everywhere.
Offline