Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
In the midst of a CBC forum discussion: third most popular comment. Now that’s getting off easy!
:)
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Welcome back, isabelesque.
I think you’ve come up with an original this time. And a big one: almost 3000 hits for “slap on the risk,” and at least a hundred unique web pages with this mistake.
I think it’s an eggcorn. “Slap on the risk” imports new imagery into the idiom. Instead of mild tap on the wrist for a misdemeanor, the person gets a slightly harder hit (a slap somewhere, presumably on the face) on the occasion of taking a risk.
There could be some kind of idiom blend happening between “slap on the wrist” and “risk one’s neck.” But it would involve an odd substitution of body parts.
Last edited by kem (2008-08-30 14:07:07)
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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