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Chris -- 2018-04-11

#1 2018-09-11 17:05:45

Dixon Wragg
Eggcornista
From: Cotati, California
Registered: 2008-07-04
Posts: 1375

"instrument" for "implement" (or "instigate")

I recently encountered this:

Also, I believe a big pat on the back to Richard Prior for instrumenting the Lion’s Club project of cleaning the monuments.
FB comment

It seems clear that this is an eggcorn for “implementing”, possibly also partaking of some “instigating” influence. A search on “instrumenting” yielded a haystack of non-eggcornish technical uses, especially in computer science, from which I extracted a couple of likely examples of this eggcorn. Searching on “instrumented” would probably yield more examples, but I didn’t feel like doing more haystack-digging.

Stringent safety regulations associated with this watersport are instrumenting the need for being equipped with proper windsurfing gear.
windsurfing article

Prominent manufacturers namely, Mahindra and Mahindra, Derre And Company…and Amar Agriculture Machinery Group will be instrumenting the global production of threshers in the coming years.
thresher news

Leading medical research organizations are exhibiting readiness to invest in technologies for instrumenting developments in the operability and functioning of intraoperative MRI equipment.
medical equipment news
[not sure if this one is an eggcorn]

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#2 2018-09-11 21:20:51

yanogator
Eggcornista
From: Ohio
Registered: 2007-06-07
Posts: 237

Re: "instrument" for "implement" (or "instigate")

I don’t see it as an eggcorn so much as making a verb of “being instrumental in”. Since any noun is now used as a verb, why not phrases?

Bruce


“I always wanted to be somebody. I should have been more specific.” – Lily Tomlin

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