Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Today’s Word of the Day from Merriam-Webster might belong on this forum. “Kickshaw/Kickshoe” is, says M-W, a “showy trifle.” Here’s their take on the etymology:
“Kickshaw” began its career in the late 16th century as a borrowing from the French “quelque chose”—literally, “something.” In line with the French pronunciation of the day, the “l” was dropped and the word was anglicized as “kickshaws” or “kickshoes.” English speakers soon lost all consciousness of the word’s French origin and, by taking “kickshaws” as plural, created the new singular noun “kickshaw.”
“Kickshaw” is not a word in my vocabulary. Some of the M-W words, I suspect, are not in anyone’s twenty-first century vocabulary. If the word is current, then the “kickshoe” variant looks like it could be an eggcorn. A trifle is something that one might kick around with impunity.
Last edited by kem (2008-12-18 13:31:06)
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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