Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2018-04-11
Sometimes it seems like a malapropism for “stoney silenceâ€. (It’s not an likely typo on a qwerty keyboard.)
The contrast between the stoned silence of the gigantic rock massive and the beautiful deep blue of the Atlantic waters are eye candy for each visitor.
Some time ago I mused whether local leaders of the Labour Party might like to comment on their leader’s predicament, I was met with a stoned silence,
In other cases it seems like the target was probably “stunned silenceâ€, or a combination of the two, e.g. a stoney silence induced by a (stunningly) shocking situation:
He mounted the floor with a calm command that brought stoned silence to the entire court room. It was as though the breathing of every person in the room had stopped.
He somehow managed to prop himself up and slogged through the rest of the set as the dwindling audience watched in stoned silence. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
A few times it may actually mean “drug-induced silenceâ€:
San Fran 60s – “Amateur Insanity” (4) – [ Traducir esta página ] We sit in a stoned silence only occasionally broken by Cheryl’s ridicule of the TV, which, it becomes apparent, is why she watches it.
“Stone-silent†is doubtless involved in a number of these.
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Perhaps some eggcornish possibilities in some of the combinations, but I haven’t got time to tease them out at the moment. Certainly seems blendish in many cases.
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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Interesting confusions. The first batch of citations look like they really want to be eggcorns. I’m not sure if “stoned” introduces any new imagery, however. Unless “stoned” brings into the picture the notion of a drugged state.
Last edited by kem (2012-04-22 11:40:28)
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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How about “stoned cold sober”? There are several web instances of this perplexing oxymoron. As you say, it looks like a confused association more than an eggcorn.
I was stoned cold sober the whole time waiting for it to take effect and nothing happend (http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/showthread.php?t=365484)
One day we’ll stop making fun of Tara Reid. Not today, though. This is a stoned cold sober Tara. (http://socialitelife.celebuzz.com/archi … lights.php)
On the other hand, there are instances of being “stoned cold” where intoxication is invoked, and then it has eggcorn overtones:
I still didn’t get to see Deep Purple. when they came on I was stoned cold out of it, snoozing off my drug induced coma somewhere in a corner. (http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Di … page5.html)
Knocked down, sprawled out,
Stoned cold drunk. (http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/1manband/beersongs.html)
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I agree, David, “stoned cold†may introduce the image of a drugged state.
I’m reading Shockaholic, Carrie Fisher’s latest work. Her books are full of delicious puns, a lot of them about her chemical habits. In this book she mentions that Baltimore is “a semi-stoned throw away†from Washington, DC.
Others have used the “stoned throw away†pun, but there are a number of web sites with the phrase that reveal no awareness of the pun. Are they perhaps thinking that a place is close (a stone’s throw away) if it is no further away than a stoned person could throw?
NYC real estate thread: “[T]his one will top out at 18 stories, hold about 94,000 sf and be packed with 72 units, all just a stoned throw away from the frat-pack tower of sin at 80 Lafayette, the final point on the infamous NYU vomit trail. â€
Blog entry: “. It’s over by the Greek Orthodox church (go figure) and is a stoned throw away from the Washington National Cathedral (architecture nirvana).â€
Guest house review: “Situated a stoned throw from the beautifully rugged “dartmoor touched the sea” coast line, the undercliff was a really great.â€
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
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