Discussions about eggcorns and related topics
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Chris -- 2025-05-10
A grandson of mine, who is actually an excellent reader, was reading out loud to us and came across the word “misshapenâ€, which he confidently pronounced “miss-happenâ€. I suggested it was probably “mis-shapen†and he, after a moment’s consideration, conceded “Oh, yeah.â€
.
Although I have listed it here under slips and reshapings, I am wondering if it wasn’t an eggcorn formed off “mishapâ€, a word I am sure my grandson knows. I’ll have to ask him. We sometimes refer to deformities as unfortunate, so it isn’t too far out of the realms of impossibility, I don’t think.
*If the human mind were simple enough for us to understand,
we would be too simple-minded to understand it* .
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