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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Hello everyone, I’m a long time listener, first time caller. I was just reminded of this cute little spelling error while browsing the eggcorn database.
The database already has clique>click, but I’ve recently begun to see written items where the writer clearly believes that cliché is spelled clique. It’s not an eggcorn at all, of course, but still very interesting. It must be that some English speakers have no conception of how French is pronounced, given all the letters that must be regularly left out of French words. They have seen the word clique while reading and somehow assumed this was pronounced klee-shay:
“I know it’s clique` but time really is the best healer.”
http://ca.answers.yahoo.com/answers2/fr … ztG&show=7
“Well, well I know it’s clique and cocky to talk about philosophy.”
http://interactive.usc.edu/members/jche … _misc.html
“Time heals all wounds. I know it’s clique, but it really is true.”
http://forum.purseblog.com/general-disc … -9440.html
“It’s clique I know, but Coban’s novels always have me on the edge of my seat.”
http://www.amazon.com/review/R3CCHVBNKKCFO
AND, my favorite, someone correcting (wrongly) someone else on a forum:
Person 1: “there is nothing original in this game and the storyline looks so unbelievable boring and cleche!”
Person 2: “Nothing Original? Did you not watch the video? Oh, and it’s not ‘cleche’, it’s ‘clique’”
In any case, the google search for “I know it’s clique” produced only 119 results, but I’m pretty sure that all are this particular misunderstanding. Other searching like “such a clique” came up with many math related results and “that’s a clique” produced mostly correct usage.
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Clever searching, Mia. I’ve heard of this phenomenon before, but it had to do with over-intellectualizing the pronunciation of foreign terms like “coup de grace as ‘coo de grah’”, which would have something to do with liver. Point is, it’s not just the dull amongst us that mispronounce. I think it’s just desserts that purported intellectuals sometimes get served a large piece of humble pie. What you’re onto seems to be the same thing only in reverse: knowing the pronunciation but falling into the false presumption of the ‘sophisticated spelling’. Thanks for the chuckle!
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Yes, exactly. A false presumption of sophisticated spelling! That’s precisely how I was feeling, but I was having trouble phrasing it as elegantly as you have. I’m glad you enjoyed my post, the last example there made me giggle quite a bit myself.
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Oooh, and not to beat a dead horse, but here it is flipped around, a whole thread full:
“So what Social cliche are you in? Please tell what you said and why.”
“Cliques and clichés bother me greatly.”
“I don’t think I really /belong/ to a certain cliche or what not.”
And more creative spellings:
“I don’t belong in a chilche, only hang out with a group of friends.”
“There really isn’t much clitches in our school.”
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