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Chris -- 2018-04-11

#1 2009-01-03 14:30:11

kem
Eggcornista
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2007-08-28
Posts: 2851

Best of 2008

Time to think about what we have done this year. Pat says he will soon post his twenty fav eggcorns of 2008. When I saw his note, I thought “Twenty? The spineless fellow can’t narrow it down to ten?” Then I looked back over they year’s production, and I realized that even paring the list down to even twenty is true grit. My apologies, Pat, for thinking bad thoughts about you.

I thought I would try making my own list of the twenty or so best. I began by scanning our 900+ threads and 2000+ posts of 2008 and culling a list of about 150 candidates. I’ll copy this list below-perhaps it will encourage others to submit their own list of the year’s best. If you think there are good candidates I missed, please suggest them.

Note that I’m not claiming all of these are eggcorns, or even good acorns. I left some off the list that were probably eggcorns and that just didn’t grab me by the cohornies, if you know what I mean. I also omitted a few otherwise good ones that were extensions of pre-2008 discussions.

Brain hammerage by burred (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3462)
Ontrays/entrees by David (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3449)
Kareem/carom or careen by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3403)
Breakfirst/breakfast by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3425)
Pickyoon/picayune by David (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3421)
Skimp/skim milk by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3401)
Cohornies/cojonies by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3395)
Lamb baste/lambaste by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3389)
Infaduation/infatuation by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3386)
Slow-relief/slow-release by David (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3378)
Dieciduous/deciduous by David (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3380)
Gut retching/gut-wrenching by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3370)
Fatal/fetal alcohol syndrome by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3374)
Direbolical/diabolical by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3353)
Upchunk/upchuck by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3363)
Nest of kin/next of kin by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3369)
Teatotaler/teetotaler by Kem et. al. (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3357)
Perked/piqued by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3348)
Scolded dog/scalded dog ilpirata (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3347)
Charicature/caricature by Craig (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3345)
Shy grin/chagrin by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3335)
Cock and ball/cock and bull by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3228)
Need jerk reaction/knee jerk reaction by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3229)
Tooling around/tooting around by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3207)
Lump and proletariat/lumpenproletariat by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3206)
Dayview/debut by kohath (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3173)
Haftorah/haftarah by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3203)
Dreglocks/dreadlocks by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3104)
Starlit/starlet by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3083)
Petherass/pederast by billyphuz (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3069)
Laxadaisical/lackadaisical by Dixon (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2879)
Strings and arrows/slings and arrows by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3026)
Clusterphobic/claustrophobic by mander (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3020)
Tattermedallion/tatterdemalion by Joe (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2984)
Scentilla/scintilla by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2991)
At first brush/blush by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2952)
Innerbitions/inhibitions by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2898)
Earsay/hearsay by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2862)
Off one’s rocket/rocker by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2943)
Buttonhold/buttonhole by Bill (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2941)
Nobel/noble prize by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2932)
Holiday sauce/hollandaise by lolphysics (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2904)
Dualing/dueling bgy Wordworking (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2923)
Pestimist/pessimist by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2919)
Bloodgeon/bludgeon by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2908)
Backclog/backlog by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2867)
Tajma Hall/Taj Mahal by ilpirata (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2885)
Unbridaled/unbridled passion by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2874)
Infantada/intifada by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2859)
Penny up/pony up by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2863)
Shrimp/skimp by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2845)
Regulate/relegate by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2856)
No nothing/know nothing by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2853)
Detour/deter/detour by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2851)
Beet/beef red by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2840)
Sore/sour grapes by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2841)
Stub/snub out by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2836)
Skank/skunk by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2843)
In the lime life/light by David (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2835)
Fail/fall by the wayside (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2837)
Juxtopposed/juxtaposed (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2834)
Oft/off chance by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2832)
Burned to a frazzle/frizzle by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2830)
Golddinger/golddigger by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2822)
Sprang/sprained my ankel by snoker (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2814)
Log/lock, stock and barrel by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2812)
Refired/refried beans by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2808)
Boozing/bosom buddies by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2806)
Plug/pug ugly by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2803)
Revisitism/recidivism by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2793)
Look warm/lukewarm by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2758)
Wear a retrainer/retainer by Craig (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2781)
Thai dye/tie dye by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2779)
The just/gist of it by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2779)
Pot puree/potpourri by Old Word Wolf (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2761)
Incandlescent/incandescent by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2761)
Rude/Rube Goldberg by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2764)
Slow on the uptick/uptake by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2765)
Pits/pitch dark by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2693)
Untilmatum/ultimatum by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2755)
Oweness/onus by Craig (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2754)
Incinderate/incinerate by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2748)
Allsome/awesome by David (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2750)
Lamb(b)ash or blambast/lambaste by David (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2750)
Start from scrap/scratch by Joe (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2738)
Hewing cry/hue and cry by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2730)
Tendernitis/tendonitis by Craig (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2725)
High/eye teeth by GrantBarrett (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2702)
Ifso/ipso facto by robbiedougs (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2718)
Parrot phrasing/paraphrasing by hooch (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2708)
Grand maul/mal seizure by k_d (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2682)
Garbledygook/gobbledygook by Craig (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2692)
Flawed/floored by by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2679)
Persecution/prosecution by gillibug (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=333)
Suckubus/succubus by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2673)
Patternation/patination by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2671)
Disposition/deposition by billyphuz (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2660)
Househole/household by burred (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2662)
Fashion excessory/accessory by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2653)
Succeed/secede from by SkookumPete (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2653)
Grimestone/grindstone by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2553)
Heathenistic/hedonistic by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2601)
Fall out of flavor/favor by Joe (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2641)
Backsheesh/baksheesh by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2637)
Bobbling/bobbing for apples by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2636)
Shock/shot heard round the world by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2627)
Headless/heedless by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2624)
Plug/pluck up the courage (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2618)
Fine turn/tune by rulavi (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2616)
Mindless drizzle/drivel by jill (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2612)
Wrapped/wracked with guilt by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2598)
Missfire/misfire by Joe (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2587)
Buy words/bywords by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2578)
Glowing/gloating about by Joe (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2566)
Death nail/knell by cgrayson (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=1195)
Buyer aware/beware by CainEnabled (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2549)
Breathstroke/breaststroke by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2541)
Up the anti/ante by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2529)
Patiently/patently obvious by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2528)
In groves/droves by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2523)
In troves/droves by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2523)
zeroscape/xeriscape by booboo (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2517)
in close corridors/quarters by remarkablefurniture (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2498)
in inchwise/edgewise by kanani (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2480)
last grasp/gasp by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2480)
tarnished/tarred with the same brush by wayner (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2485)
Repelling/rappelling down by Fuzzy (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2479)
Bear the grunt/brunt of by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2470)
Bleeding like a struck/stuck pig by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2461)
Fall by the waste/way side by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2437)
Tabbed/tapped by cognomen (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2456)
Roamany/Romany gypsies by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2448)
Fallen/forlorn hope by Peter (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2444)
Irish sitter/setter by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2434)
Marred/mired in controversy by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2421)
Antimosity/animosity by booboo (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2428)
Hamstruck/hamstrung by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2429)
Crock/cock and bull story by curtisg (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2424)
Living in squander/squalor by Holbrook (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2376)
Prick/pick up your ears by Ken (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2377)
Vaulted/vaunted opinioin by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2065)
Gabble to gabble/gavel to gave by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3057)
Go haywire/AWOL by Kem (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2870)
Stumple/stumble upon/over by David (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2849)
Partboiled/parboiled by johnW719 (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2734)
Debotchery/debauchery by Pat (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2603)
Doublage/WH movement by cynthax (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2459)
In the trawls/thralls by Lee Rudolph (Database)
Soaping/soaking wet by Lee Rudolph (Database)
Tarter/tartar sauce by Arnold Zwicky (Database)
Social leopard/leper by Chris Waigl (Database)
Reels/rears its head by Ben Zimmer (Database)

Last edited by kem (2009-01-03 14:50:14)


Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.

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#2 2009-01-03 15:16:26

kem
Eggcornista
From: Victoria, BC
Registered: 2007-08-28
Posts: 2851

Re: Best of 2008

My top twenty of 2008. This was so painful. I began by pulling out of the candidate list the ones I just couldn’t leave out, and I had nearly thirty! Ah, the sufferings of the gritless. The Bard was right, cowards do die many times before their deaths.

I realize in looking over this list that humor is big factor in my choices. And that frequency of occurrence is not so important.

If I had to pick a first, second and third place winner for 2008, I think they would be

(1) debotchery
(2) backclog
(3) untilmatum

The twenty, in no particular order:

Ontrays/entrees (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3449)
Pickyoon/picayune (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3421)
Cohornies/cojonies (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3395)
Gut retching/gut-wrenching (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3370)
Shy grin/chagrin (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3335)
Clusterphobic/claustrophobic (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3020)
Bloodgeon/bludgeon (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2908)
Backclog/backlog (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2867)
Infantada/intifada (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2859)
Sore/sour grapes (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2841)
Look warm/lukewarm (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2758)
The just/gist of it (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2779)
Untilmatum/ultimatum (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2755)
Ifso/ipso facto (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2718)
Garbledygook/gobbledygook (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2692)
Suckubus/succubus (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2673)
Fashion excessory/accessory (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2653)
Backsheesh/baksheesh (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2637)
Debotchery/debauchery (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2603)
Crock/cock and bull story (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2424)

Last edited by kem (2009-01-03 16:17:06)


Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.

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#3 2009-01-04 04:23:41

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

Re: Best of 2008

The reason I don’t normally contribute to “best of’s” is that 20 minutes later I find I’ve neglected some gems then have to start sacrificing all over again. I selected the following 20 before Kem’s appeared and this time I refuse to change them no matter what pearls I may have missed:

Add lips/ad libs
Aghasp/aghast
Backclog/backlog
Bloodgeon/bludgeon
Breath-stroke/breast-stroke
Crock/cock and bull story
Day view/debut
Garbledegook/gobbledegook
Hatch/hedge your bets
Ifso factso/ipso facto
Incandlescent/incandescent
Incinderate/incinerate
Lamest/layman’s terms
Lime life/limelight
Ontrays/entrees
Pig style/pig stye
Shy grin/chagrin
Skimp milk/skimmed milk
Snail space/snail’s pace
Suckubus/succubus

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#4 2009-01-04 12:26:02

Chris Waigl
Eggcorn Faerie
From: London, UK
Registered: 2005-10-14
Posts: 115
Website

Re: Best of 2008

Thanks for these awesome lists. I’ve entered bloodgeon and ontray (and edited kem’s post to make the links clickable). Garbledegook and skimp milk are already filed, unlike, surprisingly, teatotaler. We also have lame man’s terms already.

I particularly like untilmatum, agasp (why the h?), backclog, breath stroke, debotchery (or debutchery? or both?), and _ifso-facto is turning out to be surprisingly complex, after having started to investigate.

Some more notes of what’s in store for this site: For a long while now, the main EDCB has suffered from being, very frankly spoken, one my own first public programming projects: the back-end is a hackish affair, all too hampered by my beginner’s errors. In addition, the basic data structure offered by the WordPress software I extended does not very well match the needs of a lexical database. Doing the right thing to do in this situation means re-engineering the entire thing—which I’ve started on, working with the Django Python framework (in case someone wants to help).

For the forum, I think PunBB does the job not too badly. Performance is good. But the great concern is spam. Currently I have to authorize each new user manually. One possible solution would be to use a Captcha for new user registrations—something I’ve resisted because I really dislike these things. However, as I discovered, these days simple, powerful and accessible solutions are available, like Recapcha .

Ideally—and this will take a lot of work—login into the forum would immediately give commenter rights on the main ECDB, once comments are restored to functionality.

(I currently have so many different eggcorn-related to-do lists that just organizing them would take many hours…)

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#5 2009-01-06 00:11:03

patschwieterman
Administrator
From: California
Registered: 2005-10-25
Posts: 1680

Re: Best of 2008

Next year I’m not going to bother with the comments – man, that took a long time. In any case, here’s my top 21. I left out anything I posted, and I also didn’t consider anything that had already gotten recognition in the Database – which meant that something like Jorkel’s excellent “tatter medallion” isn’t here. [Chris has added “ontray” to the Database since I wrote this up, but I decided just to keep it and add another.] Seeing Kem’s amazing, painstaking list of the top 150 might have changed some of my choices, but like Peter and Pontius Pilate both, I’ve decided I’ve written what I’ve written. This isn’t in a strict order, but a number of my faves cluster at the head of the list.

“dayview” for “debut” (kohath)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3173

I love “double-yolked” eggcorns like “dayview” – in which all the parts of the original are reshaped even while the resulting whole makes sense in context. This one also reminds me of “eggcorn” itself in that it feels like it could have been a perfectly standard term in some alternate history of the English lexicon. Kohath earns extra points for digging up a thread in which a user defends “dayview” and attributes its origins to sports lingo. This instantly became one of my all-time faves.

“untilmatum” for “ultimatum” (David Vinson via Kem)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2755

Metathetical eggcorns – in which letters of the acorn are switched around – aren’t all that common, so “untilmatum” is pretty damn cool. And it works so well since a phrase like “You’ve got until [an all-too-quickly-approaching date]!” is a virtually archetypal aspect of movie ultimatums.

“revisitism” for “recidivism” (Ken Lakritz)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2793

“Revisitism” is almost a phonological anagram of the original, with the v, s/c, and t/d all finding new places in this eggcornical equivalent of musical chairs. And it works semantically, too. The usual habitat of “recidivism” is officialese, and this reshaping seems unintentionally to mock the euphemistic tendencies in that discouse – as if going back to the pen for ten years for the same crime were just another “visit.”

“ontrays” for “entrees” (David Tuggy)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3449

This shares the 2008 “Right Under Our Noses Award” with “clusterphobic” – I’m amazed no one had posted it earlier. Restaurants will often bring out salads or starters in separate bowls or plates, but big, hearty entrees come out on trays.

“shy grin” for “chagrin” (Kem)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3335

Probably our cutest, cuddliest contribution this year. The very best eggcorns often seem to reveal subtle nuances of a concept, and “shygrin” is about as good an example of that phenomenon as I can think of. The feeling of chagrin is often inflected with the bashful embarrassment this reshaping seems to communicate. A truly classic eggcorn.

“wind mirror” for “wing mirror” (Peter Forster)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2607

In the comments, Billyphuz said, “I buy the image of wind buffeting the mirrors.” I do, too.

“ifso facto” for “ipso facto” (robbiedougs)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2718

Jorkel provided a nice reading in the thread: “In one interpretation, it has an hilarious tautology to it: ‘If it is so, then it is fact” ... Ifso facto!’” But I don’t want to underestimate the eggcorners; people may also be thinking something like “X may happen, and if so, Y will follow.” That’s a fairly decent echo of the original’s concern with cause/effect and consequences.

“clusterphobic” for “claustrophobic” (mander)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3020

This works better if you’re envisioning a crowded room rather than a narrow space, but in the former case it’s an extremely appropriate substitution. It’s impressive numberwise, too, with at the least many hundreds of unique hits.

“rage war” for “wage war” (David Tuggy)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3332

As Jorkel pointed out in the comments, “wage war” has spawned an impressive array of reshapings. I think this may be the best of the lot for two reasons. First of all, it works really well semantically – a sense of rage or outrage often provides the first impetus for war. And I like the way that this transitive reshaping seems to be supported by its intransitive counterpart in “the war rages (on).”

“tendernitis” for “tendonitis” (Craig C. Clarke)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2438

I’ve had tendonitis of the elbow (apparently as a result of correcting student essays, rather than playing golf or tennis), and extreme tenderness is in fact what I most associate with the condition. As Kem pointed out in the comments, there’s also an even more strongly reshaped variant in “tenderitis.”

“brain hammerage” for “brain hemorrhage” (burred)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3462

My usual rule of thumb is that if the condition can easily kill you, its spelling is probably funny and Greek. Fortunately, the people who created this one weren’t aware of that. This snuck in a few days before the end of the year – a great way of finishing things off (sort of speak…).

“sort of speak” for “so to speak” (Dixon Wragg)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2794

This is cool for a number of reasons. First of all, it’s a pretty radical reshaping of the original. “Of” and “to” are both reduced to a schwa in quick speech, and the eggcorners have reconstituted the source of that vowel in a non-standard way. And they’ve also reanalyzed the word boundaries, moving the t of “to” to the end of “sort.” But despite the drastic reshaping, this still neatly calls up the sense of approximation or roundaboutness implicit in the original. The result may feel a bit clumsy, but I like it.

“patternation” for “patination” (Peter Forster)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2671

Peter defines “patination” as “the venerable bloom of age on bronze sculptures, coins and latterly anything old or valuable.” “Patternation” works so well that both Peter and I double-checked to be sure that it wasn’t a specialist’s technical term.

“selfforefilling” for “self-fulfilling” (majolo)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2852

A number of people point out in the rich, long thread that accompanied this that the “fore-“ prefix here seems to point ahead to the word “prophecy,” which so often follows the acorn. A nice illustration of the way in which eggcorns occasionally reemphasize some aspect of the acorn.

“cow down to” for “kowtow to” (paulb)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3108

As people noted in the lengthy comments, “cow down to” seems to work on many levels: it evokes being cowed, cowering, the submissiveness of cows, and the rhyming phrase “bow down to.” And it’s a double-yolker, to boot – both parts of the original are meaningfully refashioned.

“free willing for “free-wheeling” (Ken Lakritz)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2438

Situations that are freewheeling are often ones in which constraints on the will of the participants have been relaxed. This one seems to have flown in under the radar – I’d completely forgotten about it, and it didn’t elicit much comment – but I think it comes close to scoring a direct hit, meaning-wise.

“penny up” for “pony up” (A Kem/Wade collaboration via Kem)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2863

A classic example of an opaque idiom being made much more transparent and immediate in its eggcorn. An added bonus with this was the hilarious illustrative excerpt from Kem’s unyet-published neo-noir novel.

“pains and needles” for “pins and needles” (Peter Forster)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2008

At first I didn’t like this one so well because I felt that “pains” pointlessly disrupted the neat imagistic parallelism in “pins and needles.” Then it occurred to me that what’s lost in near-synonymy seems to be gained in a cause-and-effect pairing, with the pains perhaps thought of as the result of being on needles. Sure, that’d work even better if the traditional order were reversed, but hey….

“petty Annie/penny Annie” for “penny ante” (David Tuggy/Kem)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3448

This is probably the choice that people will disagree with most strongly; Kem’s already on record as questioning its eggcornicity, but I think it works. Ironically, it was Kem who found the “Penny Annie” variant, which I think may be even better than David T’s version; I’ve saddled him with a co-credit as a result.

“pestimist” for “pessimist” (Kem)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=2919

Speaks for itself, I think. Lots of people consider us pests.

“direbolical” for “diabolical” (Peter Forster)
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/view … hp?id=3353

Probably works best in the non-rhotic speech of Peter’s compatriots, but it nicely evokes the usual consequences of diabolical plots.

Last edited by patschwieterman (2009-01-06 00:54:03)

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#6 2009-01-06 00:48:09

patschwieterman
Administrator
From: California
Registered: 2005-10-25
Posts: 1680

Re: Best of 2008

So the three of us—Kem, Peter, and me—share only “shygrin,” “untilmatum” and “ifso facto,” but that’s actually pretty good given the hundreds of choices we had to pick from. And of course there are more shared picks among the various pairings of the three of us.

When I saw Kem’s shorter list, I honestly thought, “Who posted ‘debotchery’? I can’t remember…” And then I thought, “And it’s not even a very good eggcorn….” Well, you’ve got to give me points for consistency—when I originally posted it, I stuck it down in “Slips.” Apparently Chris disagrees with me, too—that’s fine; I can live with that kind of disagreement.

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#7 2009-01-08 01:46:14

Craig C Clarke
Eggcornista
Registered: 2005-11-18
Posts: 233
Website

Re: Best of 2008

I liked “wheeled power,” but maybe that was 2007? I’m too tired to search.

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#8 2009-01-08 14:07:11

TootsNYC
Eggcornista
Registered: 2007-06-19
Posts: 263

Re: Best of 2008

Pat, if I weren’t already married, I’d propose.

Your list is great, and your explanations so much fun to read.

Hard to pick a favorite, when it comes to eggcorns.

I do love “untilmatum.” And “backclog.”

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#9 2009-01-08 14:49:21

DavidTuggy
Eggcornista
From: Mexico
Registered: 2007-10-11
Posts: 2713
Website

Re: Best of 2008

Excellent lists. I second and third the love expressed for “untilmatum”, “backclog”, “ifso facto”, “skimp milk” (my candidate for the “Under our Noses” award) and “sort of speak”. Though I also agree that it is very hard to pick.
.
One I don’t think has been mentioned, that I thought rather wonderful, was “lipness test”.
.
And … And …


*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .

(Possible Corollary: it is, and we are .)

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#10 2009-01-09 04:53:05

patschwieterman
Administrator
From: California
Registered: 2005-10-25
Posts: 1680

Re: Best of 2008

TootsNYC wrote

Pat, if I weren’t already married, I’d propose.

Aww, golly jeepers, ma’am.

In a better world, the word-nerds would be the true babe/hunk-magnets….

Last edited by patschwieterman (2009-01-09 05:14:17)

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#11 2009-01-14 12:07:30

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

Re: Best of 2008

I must agree that Pat’s analytic post was simply an awesome read. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and wish he might have included some of his own.

Off the top of my head, I really liked ifso facto the best in 2008, but I need to go back and compare it with the others.

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#12 2009-01-14 15:13:37

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

Re: Best of 2008

At the end of 2007, I thought we should close the Patent Office because all the eggcorns that would ever be found were already found. Well, we certainly had some nice additions in 2008.

My main criteria for “best” eggcorns include such concerns as
1. Is it credible that someone could make such a mistake?
2. Is the reshaping (eggcorn) reasonably widespread in usage?
3. Does the reshaping just plain make me chuckle because it’s a clever use of language?

Given that, here are some of my favorites…
1. Ifso Facto – robbiedougs
2. Holiday sauce – lolphysics
3. Pug ugly – Peter Forster
4. Repel (rappel) – fuzzy
5. Waiting pool (wading) – jorkel
6. Day view – kohath
7. Recoop – TootsNYC
8. Sits bath (Sitz) – Sandi
9. Laundry mat – blacksmith_tb
10. Zeroscape (Xero-) – booboo
11. Start from scrap – jorkel
12. Hawks goods (hocks) – sesquiotic
13. Vanished (banished) – stephannie5
14. Wise acher – kem
15. Squirrelous – pat
16. Penny up – kem
17. Glow about (gloat) – jorkel
18. Agasp (aghast) – David Tuggy
19. Rouge (ruse) – htompson
20. Fiercesome – sammka
21. Tatter medallions – jorkel
22. Back clog – pat
23. Sniffer (snifter) – burntsox
24. Expose facto – klakritz
25. Pinky shears – Ntsimp
26. Rage war – David Tuggy
27. Owe up to – jorkel
28. Florissant lights – TootsNYC
29. Anti-fada (Intifada) – jorkel
30. More bank for the buck – Old Word Wolf
31. Cow down (kowtow) – paulb
32. Backed by popular demand – jorkel
33. Pickyoon – David Tuggy
34. Rule the day (rue) – esquire
35. Warred off (ward) – David Tuggy
36. Looksie – buzhwa
37. Anotherwards – wheel251
38. Taken aback [stealth eggcorn] – Craig
39. Pain-staking [stealth eggcorn] – roonyjwelch
40. ConCOMMITant [stealth eggcorn] – jorkel
...and many more

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