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peer » pier

Chiefly in:   pier-to-pier network

Classification: English

Spotted in the wild:

  • CAMCOM designs data systems, including designs of pier-to-pier, client/server, ATM, frame relay, Internet connection, and voice over data systems. (Open Source Development Labs)
  • I’m using Vlans in my network as a way of preventing pier to pier communication - I only want nodes in the network to talk to the gateway (a linux box). (Global Management Systems Inc.)
  • Whether you need a Windows ‘95 pier-to-pier network or a Windows NT server-workstation network, A Faster PC® can provide a network solution for you. (A Faster PC)

Analyzed or reported by:

As with many terms from the field of computing, caution must be exercised regarding the status of non-standard spellings. In particular the community of open-source software developers is truly international, and mostly uses English as a lingua franca. This is not to say that only native speakers get to produce a true eggcorns. But it is very difficult to assess the degree of competence of a non-native speaker from reading a paragraph taken from an online discussion forum, which makes it impossible to determine what the contributing factors are that generate a particular linguistic error.

In Brighton, England, UK, and in Seattle, WA, USA, wireless networks have been set up along the waterfront. These go by the name of pier-to-pier networks as well. In which case the term is, of course, a pun.

| Comments Off link | entered by Chris Waigl, 2005/02/18 |

old wives' tale » old wise tail

Variant(s):  wise tail

Classification: English

Spotted in the wild:

  • Dear Cecil: Sometimes when I am sleeping I will jerk and wake myself up. My friends say that I am dreaming about falling, and that if I hadn’t jerked and woke myself up I would have died. Is this true? I mean, the only thing I could fall off of when I am sleeping is my bed. But I don’t believe I could die. Uncle Cecil, is this an old wise tail? —Sandy K., Phoenix
    Dear Sandy: An “old wise tail,” whatever that is, no. An old wives’ tale, quite likely. (Cecil Adams, More of the Straight Dope, 1988)
  • There’s an old wise tail that says use vinegar and water to clean anything. (The Carpet Doctor)

A double eggcorn, combining wives » wise with tale » tail.


Like “wise tale” and “wives tail,” this can occasionally be found without “old,” as in:

I loved ginger ale when I was pregnant. I hope this works for you. Remember this is a wise tail but it worked for me. (Epinions, Sep. 8, 2000)

| Comments Off link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/02/17 |

mourning » morning

Chiefly in:   morning dove , Morning Becomes Electra

Classification: English – citational

Spotted in the wild:

  • Marilyn and I have been watching a morning dove who nested and has been sitting on the eggs up in our gutter on the front (north) side of the house. (Union University News Release, May 7, 2003)
  • Ground feeders like juncos, morning doves, sparrows and cardinals will feed on seed kicked off of platform feeders by other birds or on feed placed on the ground for them. (UNH Cooperative Extension news)
  • I wrote about Greek tragedy, not really on Greek tragedy, but, on the 20th Century adaptations of it, … like Morning Becomes Electra, and there were about eight others, French, German, American, and so on. (Rutgers Oral History Archives of World War II, May 14, 1999)
  • The author files contain a large section of Eugene O’Neill material, including 60 letters (1920-1948) to Commins; galleys for Morning Becomes Electra, Ah, Wilderness, The Iceman Cometh, Days Without End, and A Moon for the Misbegotten. (Princeton University Library, Saxe Commins Papers)

Christine Quintasket (1888-1936), an Okanogan Indian from eastern Washington and the first Native American woman to publish a novel, originally went by the pen name “Morning Dove.” According to this thesis, she changed her pseudonym to “Mourning Dove” after she visited a museum and realized that this was the proper spelling of the bird’s name.



KCRW, a public radio station in Santa Monica, CA, has a music program called “Morning Becomes Eclectic.”

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

underlying » underline

Classification: English

Spotted in the wild:

  • The underline message was: welcome to Kashmir. It is normal. (The Tribune, Chandigarh, India, Oct. 11, 1998)
  • In any case, the underline principle behind the Copyright Law of the country is that the moment a person produces any original literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work, there is copyright protection inherent in the same. (Inomy: The New Economy of India, Dec. 21, 2002)
  • But the underline problem is that you’re assuming that a maori will fit that description and that a white guy won’t. (BigFooty Boards, June 24, 2002)

Appears to be most common in Indian English and other Asian Englishes.

(See also underlying » underlining.)

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

sleight » slight

Chiefly in:   slight of hand

Classification: English – nearly mainstream

Spotted in the wild:

  • “I mainly use magic tricks to reduce boredom and to relax students at the beginning of a class,” explained Krevsky, adding that several slight of hand tricks are great examples of medical maladies. (Temple University press release, Jan. 28, 1999)
  • “What I do is not slight-of-hand or magic. It’s math, but with a twist,” explains Lamb, who admits he’s always been something of a card shark. (Texas A&M University press release, Sep. 6, 2000)
  • For the past 18 years, Eric has traveled the States and abroad, charming both large audiences in stage shows and small groups at family parties with his “slight-of-hand” tricks. (OSU Moritz College of Law press release, Apr. 2003)

Analyzed or reported by:

The ratio of “sleight of hand” to “slight of hand” on Google’s Usenet archive is about 2.4:1 (38,500:15,800).

Slight was a common spelling variant of sleight through the 18th century, according to the OED.

| Comments Off link | entered by Ben Zimmer, 2005/02/17 |
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