jaw » jar

Chiefly in:   jar-dropping

Classification: English – cot/caught merger

Spotted in the wild:

  • Cameron’s decision that for now she just wants to have sex with the guy she “did” before when she was on drugs was just a jar-dropper. And it was perfectly deliviered. In short: “Wanna f**k?” […] As I said: An absolute classic considering the laughs, awkward moments and jar-droppers! (Polite Dissent, Review of "House", Episode 14 (Season Three), Feb 13, 2007)
  • Plus, an equally jar-dropping flashback to Hatsumi’s tiny-tot days that throws new light on how the veritable train wreck of her life got started. (eMerchandise, Review of "Hot Gimmick", Vol. 8)
  • Now go download this jar dropping trailer! (Breed Files gaming forum, Aug 07, 2002)
  • I know I don’t post much, I am a huge AA fan too, but I have been watching alot of Pride and alot UFC, and my eyes are open now, Pride is by far better, watching fights with pride is jar-dropping, UFC has become boring as hell, all of the buildup and then have lackluster fights. (Sherdog mixed martial arts forum, July 12, 2006)

Analyzed or reported by:

In the ADS-L thread, Mark Peters calls this eggcorn “one of the most logical [he] can remember”.

The spelling of body parts is taught from the beginning of elementary school onwards, and it is therefore unlikely writers who use “jar-dropping” instead of “jaw-dropping” are simply misspelling “jaw”.

Still, a measure of caution might be advisable, given that there are a number of cites similar to

> _I went straight to their site and my jar dropped._ (link)
> _Charley’s jar dropped._ (link)
> _I lost count of how many times my jar dropped as I listened._ (link)

| Comments Off link | entered by Chris Waigl, 2007/09/15 |

nautical » knotical

Chiefly in:   knotical mile

Classification: English – cot/caught merger

Spotted in the wild:

  • The head winds and waves immediately knocked my headway to 5.5 knots, and the tide was running about 4 knots in the deep water. I ran my math. At 1.5 knots to the good, 5 knotical miles is 3.3 hours. Holy smokes. (hpv-boats mailing list, Jun 17, 2002)
  • Approximately 27,500 ships are used to carry the production of 1.33 million tons of fishing products including the offshore fishery on the waters within the economic zones of the territory, i.e., 12 knotical miles to 200 knotical miles from the coast by means of powered vessels. (American Chronicle, Aug 20, 2007)
  • The only thing I stand by the English system is the knotical mile, and that is STILL used on every ship on the sea to this day. (Tiki Central Forums, Nov 15, 2003)
  • With a 160-knot cruise speed and an 800-knotical-mile range, the SR20 is a great cross-country aircraft. (according to avweb.com:, Cirrus Design ad in FLYING magazine, August 1998, p. 15)
  • Knotical knots of gold links rope around to a toggle closure. (jewelery description)

Analyzed or reported by:

It stands to reason that travelling at a speed of 1 knot for an hour, you would cover a distance of 1 knotical mile. Right?

Or to cite Ken Lakritz from his forum post:

> A nautical mile is 1852 meters. A knot is 1 nautical mile per hour. There’s no such thing as a knotical mile.

(_Knotical knot_ appears to be mostly used in jest; it is just too redundant not to give rise for suspicion that something might be wrong about the spelling.)

| Comments Off link | entered by Chris Waigl, 2007/09/13 |

stock » stalk

Chiefly in:   stalk-still

Classification: English – cot/caught merger

Spotted in the wild:

  • Ms. Blackie went stalk-still and toppled over. (The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Sep 7, 2003)
  • Do you know that most enslaved gnomes are so traumatized by this process that they stand stalk-still, eyes wide open, unmoving for years until their eventual deaths? (comment on blog, February 2, 2004)
  • Mortified, I suddenly realized I’d been standing stalk-still in the middle of the stone path with my mouth agape. (peacecorps.gov, volunteer experience)
  • He typically hides deep in the marsh. When near the edge, he camouflages in the marsh almost perfectly, standing stalk still, long neck and beak pointed upward. (Tails of birding, blog, May 13, 2006)

Analyzed or reported by:

apprentice writes in her blog:

> Tuesday night I was at Poetry School, and a poem I’d written about a plantation of trees was really well received, which pleased me a lot […]
>
> But I was asked about a phrase I’d put in it, which was stalk-still, which I meant as a deliberate play on stock-still. People were interested in knowing if I had actually meant to do it. And I had, because I’d caught a programme on the BBC that relates to this site _[the Eggcorn Database]_ on eggcorns.

Most writers in the examples seem to have “still as a stalk” in mind, but the cite from the Tails of birding blog has a reference to stalking just a few lines before it employs the eggcorn: _Again we stalked carefully along the trail, using each opening in the marsh willows to search through the broken reeds._

| Comments Off link | entered by Chris Waigl, 2007/06/07 |

don » dawn

Classification: English – cot/caught merger

Spotted in the wild:

  • Prior to Governor M. Jodi Rell’s tour of the PEZ candy factory here, she was asked to dawn a blue and white trucker hat with the Pez logo emblazoned on it, so as to be in accordance with food safety laws. (Orange Bulletin, Jan 26, 2006)
  • Also attending was Director Gordon Greenberg, conceiver of Breaking Up Is Hard To Do, costume designer Thom Heyer, Set Designer Jesse Poleshuck, and casting agent Stephanie Klapper. Ms. Stein dawned a beautiful gown designed by Dario Almiron. (Broadwayworld.com, February 1, 2006)
  • Within 24 hours of dawning a Phoenix Coyotes uniform, Steven Reinprecht showed Coyote fans what they were getting in the six-foot center: A winner. (Phoenixcoyotes.com, February 3, 2006)
  • The Marines changed modes, dawned their coolest shades and stowed their traditional marching music in their back pocket. (Marine Corps News, Feb 8, 2006)
  • Inspired by the 2005 film “Brokeback Mountain.” Brokebacking refers to two cowboys who dawn cowboy hats (and/or other cowboy getup) and gay it up. (The Urban Dictionary, definition of "brokebacking")

Ben Zimmer previously entered the reverse eggcorn dawn»don (on someone) into the database. This one might make even more sense: _don_ belongs to the formal or poetic register, and the more frequent _dawn_ evokes the appearance of something (the sun).

| 3 comments | link | entered by Chris Waigl, 2006/02/16 |

stock » stalk

Chiefly in:   laughing stalk , livestalk

Classification: English – cot/caught merger

Spotted in the wild:

  • “It’s a bigger challenge for the entire community of quality management consultants to make sure that the ISO convention does not become a laughing stalk,” he said. (USJ-Subang Jaya, Malaysia, Mar. 19, 2001)
  • We have become the laughing stalk of the world. (Cameroon Post Online, Sep. 16, 2004)
  • Not only was the live showing a flop but Geraldo Rivera became a laughing stalk for the mainstream press. (LatinoLA, Mar. 2, 2005)
  • “There is no question that the grain and oil seed industry is in trouble but the live stalk and horticulture industry is doing pretty well,” said Currie. (The Pioneer, Belleville, Ontario, Oct. 13, 2001)
  • They would surely take there toll on farmers, people, and livestalk, not to mention the game animals as well. (Iowa Outdoors forum, May 6, 2004)

See also stalk » stock.

| 1 comment | link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/07/22 |
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