Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
You are not logged in.
Registrations are currently closed because of a technical problem. Please send email to
The forum administrator reserves the right to request users to plausibly demonstrate that they are real people with an interest in the topic of eggcorns. Otherwise they may be removed with no further justification. Likewise, accounts that have not been used for posting may be removed.
Thanks for your understanding.
Chris -- 2018-04-11
Speakers minted the idiom “bowled X over†in the nineteenth century. The source of the metaphor may have been bowling or skittles, but cricket can’t be ruled out (a “bowler†knocks over the wicket). When used in physical sense, the phrase describes the act of knocking someone down. More figuratively, it refers to overwhelming someone with surprise (“I was bowled over by A+ scribbled at the top of his essay.â€)
A number of people seem to think the idiom is “bowed X over.†The examples below are a few of the dozens of web pages with the expression. The picture painted by the revised expression is that of bending (assuming the shape of a bow) in the face of irresistible force.
Post on a music forum: “The performance of Esound just bowed me over.†(http://www.echoloft.com/hifi-forum/inde … ic=13479.0)
Comment on a Delany book: “This book completely bowed me over.†(http://www.drmenlo.com/archive/2002_06_01_archive.html)
Viewer movie review: “I hadn’t expected to love it as much as I do but it just bowed me over.
†(http://www.amazon.com/All-About-You-Ren … geNumber=2)
Comment on blog post: “This post, the letter from Margaret, and the comments, all blew me away; bowed me over.†(http://www.glowinthewoods.com/home/2009 … other.html)
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
Offline
Reminds me of an old joke of my dad’s: a student assigned to paraphrase the sentence “He was bent upon seeing her†came up with: “The sight of her doubled him up.â€
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
Offline
I love the image of “it bowed me over”. Nice.
I couldn’t help looking for other riffs on being bowled over. It looks pretty rough out there. Some are being bowled, some bowed, a large number blowed over, and the meek are being bold over.
There are a surprising number of ughits for “blowed me over”—29,500. One can see in it the trace of being bowled over, from the fact that it is not “blew me over”.
I just got back from the Ansel Adams exhbit and it blowed me over. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/bonnieshulman/375045583/)
I heard the tone poem Pan and the Priest for the first time ever and it blowed me over.(http://www.amazon.co.uk/Hanson-Symphony … B00004UATG)
The idea that one could be “bold over” also clearly shows its development from “bowled”. It was initially difficult to picture, and credit, since “bold” is not in the proper tense. Its use seems to be based on the image of a bold action:
So when it came time for me to tackle, I got down on one knee and waited for the guy to come to me. The guy came towards me, bold me over and rolled over me and I broke my ankle (http://www.extremeskins.com/archive/ind … 18231.html)
That clinched it for me. His reasoning, personable delivery, and, yes, his forthrightness bold me over that day, and since, as I paid closer attention to his campaigning. (http://www.democraticunderground.com/di … 32×5222518)
I would like to see Tucker’s woman knock him sideways with her charm and bold him over into love! (http://www.catherineanderson.com/dcforu … D3/69.html)
The latter is nice because it is not in the past tense. It has graduated to transitive verb status (I’m reaching way back to identify this verb tense): to bold someone over. Here’s another example:
You couldn’t have picked a better Island to ‘pop the question’...that whole beach and sunset ambience is so romantic it will bold her over. (http://www.aruba.com/forum/f7/first-vis … sal-32431/)
Offline
Great additions, burred. Certain idioms seem to be deep veins. One advantage of this forum is the way multiple minds can mine these veins.
Hatching new language, one eggcorn at a time.
Offline
Re “blowed me overâ€, you rightly, burred, don’t conclude too much from the fact that it is not “blew me overâ€. There is a persistent (though not consistent) pattern of not using irregular past forms in English when the word in question is used in an idiomatic phrase. E.g. “baby-sitted†is much better than “sittedâ€, and for some speakers is better than “baby-satâ€.
.
Another example that comes to mind is “flied out†rather than “flew outâ€. Of course, this is well analyzed as a re-verbalization of a deverbal noun (“a fly [ball]). But could “blowed me over†possibly be “[hit me a] blow [that knocked] me overâ€?
.
I agree with kem—a fun cluster of data.
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
Offline