Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
You are not logged in.
Registrations are currently closed because of a technical problem. Please send email to
The forum administrator reserves the right to request users to plausibly demonstrate that they are real people with an interest in the topic of eggcorns. Otherwise they may be removed with no further justification. Likewise, accounts that have not been used for posting may be removed.
Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
The reshaping seems to capture something of the adversarial nature of gambling, and it’s very common as well. (a few years ago, I noted in the old comments section that the confusion of the prefixes ‘anti-’ and ‘ante-’ gives rise to all sorts of potential eggcorns like ‘antibellum.’ This one is a little different, since a word rather than a prefix is being modified).
Examples:
I’ll bet offending employers are shaking in their boots now. ... Up the anti to at least $5000 for first offenders.
www.amren.com/mtnews/archives/2008/02/u … se_fin.php
Grain buyers are now upping the anti with better and more lucrative contracts for oh-eight growing …
www.kxmc.com/t/velva-nd
“I bet you fifty bucks you can’t bring this tree down in less than an hour.†“Make it a hundred and you’re on,†Casey challenged, upping the anti.
books.google.com/books?isbn=0976336561
Olexandr Moroz has upped the anti and is began a campaign of defence by going on the attack.
ukrainetoday.wordpress.com/.../moroz-ups-the-anti-parliamentary-democracy-versus-presidential-dictatorship/
Specifically, Galpin Motors, which sells Aston Martins, in Van Nuys has upped the anti by creating Club Aston, a private club, launched last Spring, ...
www.adrants.com/medium/point_of_purchas … php?page=6
Telstra has just upped the anti in a battle over broadband speed by delivering a superfast new ADSL2+ service from more than 2400 exchanges in Australia.
www.smarthouse.com.au/Wireless_And_Netw … y/D2U4P6S9
Offline
klakritz wrote:
“I bet you fifty bucks you can’t bring this tree down in less than an hour.†“Make it a hundred and you’re on,†Casey challenged, upping the anti.
books.google.com/books?isbn=0976336561
It seems pretty clear that Casey is increasing stakes, not moving opposition metaphorically or literally upward. I’m not convinced that these usages are a semantic reshaping, as opposed to non-standard or erroneous spelling.
Offline
I think this could indeed have eggcorn possibilities, particularly this usage that klakritz cites:
Olexandr Moroz has upped the anti and is began a campaign of defence by going on the attack.
ukrainetoday.wordpress.com/.../moroz-ups-the-anti-parliamentary-democracy-versus-presidential-dictatorship/
Here, the idiomatic “up the ante” has been completely transplanted to a new context where the sense of “anti” has been adopted. That has all the imagery elements of an eggcorn to me.
Offline