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#1 2008-03-14 04:57:21

Peter Forster
Eggcornista
From: UK
Registered: 2006-09-06
Posts: 1222

'grimestone' for 'grindstone'

There is an increasing number of what were everyday objects which are utterly unknown to some younger folk. This seems fair since there is also an increasing number of everyday objects which are unknown, and sometimes unknowable, to some older folk (I know an elderly gentleman who grumbles about ‘laptop dancers’). Having your nose to a ‘grimestone’ rather than a ‘grindstone’ sounds less hygienic if also less hazardous, yet retains the sense of the original. It reminds me of the Yorkshire saying: “Where there’s muck, there’s brass”, with ‘brass’ of course meaning ‘money’.


Things back on the homefront are ok for me at the moment-nothing quite like a good 2 weeks off mahi,but sad to say it’s back to the grimestone. ...
www.bebo.com/Profile.jsp?MemberId=8392048


Heh it’s the Danster back again straight back in Ashington, no more long Easter break back to the grimestone, only a couple of months left then it’s the end …
maxpages.com/dantona/5th_May_2000 – 27k – Cached


I appreciate all of the help, also any books that would help would be great I want to really put my nose to the grimestone and excel above the rest, ...
www.clutchfitness.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1634 – 143k – Cached


Hey let me start this one wot makes me happy when the weekend comes around Friday nites!!! wot makes me sad Sunday nite!! oh dear back & work the grimestone …
www.datemate.co.uk/forum/viewthread.html?thread_ id=583&forum_id=19&topic=Everything%20Else&th… – 13k – Cached


Get a friend and build up frustration to get to you, and try to keep her nose off the grimestone. View all 7 comments …
www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZwpOR7Yyi8&feature=related – 84k – Cached

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#2 2008-03-15 10:43:22

nilep
Eggcornista
Registered: 2007-03-21
Posts: 291

Re: 'grimestone' for 'grindstone'

As Peter says, once-common words become obscure as the objects they denote become scarce; grimestone is an excellent example.

I wonder, too, about ‘hearth.’ Just as most of us no longer have axes and grindstones in our homes, relatively few people have fireplaces and hearths.

There are about 12 million raw Google hits for the cliche “hearth and home” and about 276,000 for “heart and home.” Similarly, there are about 928,000 hits for “hearthstone” versus 104,000 for “heartstone.” It’s hard to tell from these raw counts whether they are eggcorn-style reshapings, allusions, or unrelated usages, though.

By the way, jorkel previously noted hearth for heart in the forums, but I don’t see an analysis in this direction (heart for hearth).
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … p?pid=3153

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#3 2008-03-15 12:45:34

jorkel
Eggcornista
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 1456

Re: 'grimestone' for 'grindstone'

You’re right nilep… We’ve had tons of eggcorn suggestions (like hearth/heart) that could easily work the other direction in a different context. There’s certainly more than one way to find an eggcorn, and the reversal method could prove fruitful. The key to a successful reversal will be to find precisely the right context. I suppose one could start a new thread for each or tag onto the old thread. Have at it.

(But of course, my favorite way to search for eggcorns is to take old idioms that have outdated imagery and see what people have replaced it with. The “grimestone” replacement of “grindstone” is a classic example).

Last edited by jorkel (2008-03-15 12:52:11)

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#4 2008-04-28 17:23:05

Waldo
Member
Registered: 2008-04-10
Posts: 3

Re: 'grimestone' for 'grindstone'

I’ve found several references to the expression, “Ass to the grindstone”. I’m wondering if “Axe to Grind” and “Nose to the Grindstone” aren’t getting confused, while Axe is being heard as Ass.

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#5 2008-04-29 07:24:10

jorkel
Eggcornista
Registered: 2006-08-08
Posts: 1456

Re: 'grimestone' for 'grindstone'

You could start a new post with that one if you wanted, Waldo.

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