« previous page
next page »

congestive » conjunctive

Chiefly in:   conjunctive heart failure

Classification: English – questionable

Spotted in the wild:

  • Jacqueline Green has rheumatoid arthritis, conjunctive heart failure, and a nonmalignant brain tumor that causes hypertension. (Canton Repository/Associated Press, Jan. 2, 2002)
  • He had battled diabetes for years and died of conjunctive heart failure in an Arlington, VA hospital while being treated for respiratory problems. (Radio Recall, Feb. 2004)
  • On Oct 22 I received a phone call from the administrator at my mother’s ALF stating she was ill and had conjunctive heart failure. (Newsweek letter to the editor, Jan. 21, 2004)

Analyzed or reported by:

Marked questionable: may be better classified as a non-eggcornic malapropism because there is no apparent semantic justification for the use of _conjunctive_ (though it is perhaps influenced by _conjunctivitis_). Also, the phonological similarity is a bit tenuous (two entirely different phonemes in a stressed syllable).

| 2 comments | link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/02/19 |

anecdotal » antidotal

Chiefly in:   antidotal evidence

Classification: English – questionable

Spotted in the wild:

Analyzed or reported by:

Marked questionable because it is difficult to imagine any semantic rationalization for using “antidotal (evidence)” (unless the evidence is thought to have curative powers). It should probably be considered a plain old malapropism.

| 1 comment | link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/02/17 |

set foot » step foot

Classification: English – questionable

Spotted in the wild:

[2005/11/04, CW: Added the quote from Bob Dylan’s autobiography, which was contributed by Ross Howard in the Usenet group alt.usage.english.]

[BZ: Marked questionable, as participants in the a.u.e thread report that “step foot in/on” is an unremarkable idiom in a number of English dialects. It is also attested in the Oxford English Dictionary back to the 19th century:

1864 R. B. KIMBALL Was he Successful? II. i. 182 When Hiram stepped foot in the metropolis.
1880 S. G. W. BENJAMIN Troy I. iv. 26 (Funk) Calchas announced that the first man who stepped foot on the enemy’s soil was doomed at once to die.

]

| Comments Off link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/02/16 |

wing » whim

Chiefly in:   on a whim and a prayer

Classification: English – questionable

Spotted in the wild:

  • It does nothing to change the impression of a club stumbling along on a whim and a prayer. (The Daily Mail, May 25, 2004, quoted by Quinion)
  • This Government went to war on a whim and a prayer. (The Guardian, July 7, 2003)
  • She has ditched Kiefer Sutherland at the altar; married Lyle Lovett on a whim and a prayer; been linked with dishy actors like Jason Patric and Daniel Day-Lewis. (CNN/Time, Sep. 17, 2001)
  • On a whim and a prayer, Webb-Waring Institute volunteer Amy Slothower wrote to Eggers last year, asking him to read and talk to a group of Denver deep-pockets to raise money for the cancer research center. (Denver Post, Mar. 18, 2001)

Analyzed or reported by:

Perhaps better classified as an idiom blend, combining “on a whim” with “on a wing and a prayer.”

(Another idiom blend involving _whim_ is the Bushism “at the whim of a hat,” combining “at a whim” with “at the drop of a hat.” But this is even further from true eggcorn status, as there is no phonetic similarity between _whim_ and _drop_.)

See also on _a wink and a prayer_.

| Comments Off link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/02/16 |

Tanager » teenager

Chiefly in:   Scarlet Teenager , Summer Teenager

Classification: English – questionable

Spotted in the wild:

  • While visiting Iowa in 1893, the Czech composer Anton Devorak hears the song of a scarlet teenager and is inspired to create a new piece of music. (Arizona Arts Education Resources)
  • The Nature Conservancy’s 15-year old Kern River Preserve is part of one of the largest remaining cottonwood-willow riparian forest in California. The 1’100 acre preserve is home to several rare species including the willow flycatcher, the summer teenager and yellow-billed cuckoo. (link)

Analyzed or reported by:

The Scarlet Tanager (_Piranga olivacea_) and the Summer Tanager (_Piranga rubra_) are species of birds. More information on their distincive calls from U Cornell.

Marked “questionable” because of low frequency.

| 1 comment | link | entered by Chris Waigl, 2005/02/09 |
« previous page
next page »