limb » lurch

Chiefly in:   out on a lurch

Classification: English – not an eggcorn

Spotted in the wild:

  • “There are no legal weapons. There’s nothing left in the arsenal. We’re out on a lurch.” (Ralph Klein, premier of the Canadian province of Alberta. As reported by CBC News, June 30, 2005)

A google on “out on a lurch” results in 35 hits at the time of making this entry. A combination, seemingly, of “left in the lurch” and “out on a limb.”

[Edited by Ben Zimmer and marked “questionable”: because of the lack of phonetic similarity between _limb_ and _lurch_, this is probably better classified as an idiom blend.]

[Edited by Chris Waigl and boldly marked as “not an eggcorn” — idiom blends are interesting and amusing, but a different stroke of fish.]

| 1 comment | link | entered by Pearl, 2005/06/30 |

fartlek » fartlick

Classification: English

Spotted in the wild:

  • That stated there are types of training that you can do at this point that will help you in the long run, the main being LT training and Fartlick training. (runnersworld.com forum)
  • I believe in Fartlick type training, I believe swimming doesn’t use enough it enough. (link)
  • I ran track in HS, and we used to do these things that sounded like “fartlick” - high speed dashes followed by a jog for a little, then back to the dash and then the jog - over and over and over. We used to giggle at the name though - now it makes sense! (link)
  • Three days later at the holloween run. I did an easy mile warm up then some fartlick type pick ups. (link)

Analyzed or reported by:

AHD4 has the following entry for _fartlek_:

> 1. An athletic training technique, used especially in running, in which periods of intense effort alternate with periods of less strenuous effort in a continuous workout.
> 2. A workout using this technique.
>
> _[Swedish, speed play : fart, running, speed (from fara, to go, move, from Old Norse) + lek, play (from leka, to play, from Old Norse leika).]_

| Comments Off link | entered by Chris Waigl, 2005/06/29 |

die-hard » die-hearted

Variant(s):  die-heart

Classification: English – /t/-flapping

Spotted in the wild:

  • I guess the die-hearted reggae fans will say, ‘wha! Me no like dat,’ but is just a next aspect of the music still. (Mutabaruka: The Ultimate Interview, Apr. 3, 1998)
  • Not being brought up “die-hearted” (or is it “dye-hearted”), I honestly have a hard time understanding how some people can join actually join one of our major political parties. (Jamaica Gleaner, Sep. 25, 2002)
  • Lard as William was often called is a carpenter by trade and the area’s political activist. A die-hearted comrade. (Jamaicans.com, Apr. 1, 2003)
  • Ten Sports will live telecast Pak-India series in view to facilitate million of die hearted fans of hockey. (PakTribune, Sep. 22, 2004)
  • If I now say that the direction of the SDF cannot be predicted even with Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle, some die-hearted followers will call me names. (Cameroon Post Online, Nov. 8, 2004)
  • The season for these hatches runs a little later in the northern areas, so if you are a die-hearted sulfur or cahill fan, the best advice I can give you is head north young man. (Lebanon (PA) Daily Times, June 5, 2005)
  • “The RSS faction was pressing for more power in the government and in fear of this, the PM has not given enough power upon Mr. Advani, a die-heart RSS man before he left for foreign tour”, said a non-RSS BJP leader of West Bengal. (Calcutta Online, Sep. 27, 1998)
  • Rayamajhi said that a die-heart Nepali football fan Bikram Subba who has been living in Germany for 11 years persuaded him to play there. (Kathmandu Post, June 10, 2003)
  • Music from all different genres….of rock will be played. Requests are encouraged from our “die-heart” fans (and you will be “die-heart” after you hear us once) at Goucher and throughout the country…and even the world. (Goucher College Student Radio)

Appears to be most common in Jamaican English and various other international varieties of English.

See also hardship » heartship; cold-hearted » cold-harded.

| Comments Off link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/06/29 |

whittle » wheedle

Chiefly in:   wheedle down

Classification: English – /t/-flapping

Spotted in the wild:

  • “Google recently started wheedling down a long list of investment banks it approached earlier this month about underwriting the offering, which could be worth from $15 billion to $25 billion, the executives said.” (link)
  • “Strive to use 10% of your earnings monthly to wheedle down all of your credit card, home and/or other interest continuously.” (link)
  • “Hence there develops the need for a “weeding out” process to wheedle down the number of submitted paintings for a proposed exhibition to something …” (link)

Analyzed or reported by:

  • Geoff Nathan (American Dialect Society mailing list, 31 October 2003)

The first cite (from CINet news on 31 October 2003) is from Nathan’s 2003 posting. There were about 150 Google webhits on 27 June 2005, only a few of them involving actual wheedling. The unfamiliarity of whittling probably played a role in the substitution of “wheedle” for “whittle”. “Wheedle” also contributes a note of plaintive difficulty to the verb.

| Comments Off link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/06/27 |

hydrocele » hydroseal

Classification: English

Spotted in the wild:

  • I have a 15 month old son that has a testical on the left that hasn`t dropped and is significantly smaller than his right one that currently has a hydroseal that has grown quite a bit since we last visited a specialist. (link)
  • I’ve seen two doctors(intern & practioner) both have said right testicle swelling is a hydroseal. (link)
  • jan the 6 i had a hydroseal operation have no been back for the after surgery, will see the doctor jan. 31. was not much pain, a lot of swelling but most is gone now. (link)

Analyzed or reported by:

From Wikipedia we learn:

> A hydrocele denotes a pathological accumulation of serous fluid in a bodily cavity. A hydrocele testis is the accumulation of fluids around a testicle, and is fairly common, but should be treated surgically.

| 2 comments | link | entered by Chris W. (admin), 2005/06/26 |
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