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Chris -- 2018-04-11
I’m not totally convinced by this one – may just be a misspelling. But people might justify this in various ways: lots of cheaply built “centers” are certainly made of cinderblocks; and in walls they’re often positioned (like other types of brick) so that the edge of one block corresponds to the center of the block below it. Hard to count since there are a number of non-eggcornish uses of “centerblock.” I’d guess there are probably fewer than 100 unique hits. Examples:
But Monday, we stopped early, gaining only 8 miles due to the RPH shelter. A centerblock building with a covered picnic table out back, bunks, a privy, a water pump, and a means to get pizza delivered.
http://heartysoup.blogspot.com/2006/06/ … rt-ii.html
last week, i was driving to raleigh (alone, to work to print) and i noticed the little white centerblock building in the photo above was obviously abandoned.
http://theoutcrop.blogspot.com/2008/02/ … store.html
After we cut the centerblock wall between the small living room and kitchen, it will really open it up and since there is no window in the 2nd bedroom, I want to use the tool to cut out a window too.
http://www.realestateinvestor.com/media/blog/1195
Remarks: WHEN you start up the private drive of the property you will find the place that most people dream of, this 2 bd 2 bath centerblock home, metal roof nice kitchen
http://www.palestinerealestate.com/defa … 4&sortby=2
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I agree that it’s difficult to know whether this is a reshaping or a misspelling (or something else). I will hazard a third semantic path, though.
It’s not uncommon for exterior cinderblock walls to be faced with brick. If there are bricks on the outside and wall-board on the inside of the wall, the cinderblocks are in the center. Maybe?
There is an obvious bit of counter-evidence to my theory, however. People who use the word centerblock can presumably see the blocks. This especially seems to be the case in Pat’s first two examples. Therefore, those blocks, at least, are not in the center of brick facing.
By the way, the Oxford English Dictionary labels cinderblock as “N. Amer.” and gives examples from the US and Canada. Is the word not used elsewhere in the Anglo-sphere?
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nilep wrote:
<blockquote> [...] By the way, the Oxford English Dictionary labels cinderblock as “N. Amer.” and gives examples from the US and Canada. Is the word not used elsewhere in the Anglo-sphere? </blockquote>
In Australia – although aware of the term cinderblock (courtesty of the techno-culturo-linguistic imperialism inherent in imported media) – we do not use the term; rather, we use a long-established proprietary name: Besserblock.
Gordon Balfour Haynes, professional verbivore, Australia
Dictionaries are like watches: the worst is better than none, and the best cannot be expected to go quite true. Samuel Johnson, lexicographer (1709-1784)
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I’m no builder, but here in the UK I believe they’re called just “blocks” or by the trade name ‘thermalite blocks’. There is, however, a lightweight block called a clinker block and cinders are sometimes referred to as clinker…
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I had no idea that “cinderblock” is an Americanism—thanks to everyone for comments. Always fun to learn new words.
WordWeb Online seems to indicate that clinker block and cinder block (dictionaries favor the two-word version over mine) are synonyms:
A light concrete building block made with cinder aggregate – cinder block [N. Amer], breeze block [Brit]A light concrete building block made with cinder aggregate – cinder block [N. Amer], breeze block [Brit]
http://www.wordwebonline.com/en/CLINKERBLOCK
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