The Eggcorn Database - v. 0.5

Spotted in the wild:

• Quizzes and exams are open book and open notes. This is in keeping with course philosophy that holds that understanding the issues is far more useful and important than learning by route. (link)
• “In the beginning, school will be hard, but then, everything has been. I can drive fine, but I can’t go anywhere,” she joked. “I have no visual perception, and have to learn things by route and repetition, so as soon as I learn where I’m going by landmarks, they change it. […]” (link)
• Next Thoreau refers to the great lesson which we are to learn, whether by route or by understanding. (link)
• There are those who learn things by route, and when one asks a question they point you out to the manuals. They don’t understand that grasping the conceptual logics behind something is the furthest exact opposite of what a manual accounts and stands for. (link)
• MaxSkill Trainer offers 400+ training problems that allow you to focus on specific state curriculum requirements. Additionally, an unlimited number of Skill Sharpening © drill training problems helps students learn mathematical equations by route. (MaxSkill Software Trainer)
• When children were taught the alphabet at a young age they learned it by route and by the time they were at an age to question things they had already accepted the alphabet as being the way it was and there was no reason to question it. (link)

Spotted in the wild:

• To ease my frustrations, I moved on to greater challenges where I had an opportunity to apply my studies. To exercise my demons, though, I needed another outlet. That is where this book comes in. (link)
• When Cordelia learned her house was haunted, she decided to fight back rather then run away. As they were exercising the ghost some hit men came looking for Doyle. In the fight Cordelia released Dennis from the wall, his spirit had been trapped in for all those years. (link)
• Isn’t it further interesting that despite the fact that the “name” of Jesus failed to exercise the demons, nonetheless it records that “the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified” as a result of such failure. (link)

Spotted in the wild:

• Well, there are some reports this morning that the Indonesians are considering the imposition of some kind of marshall law in East Timor, and there’s a suggestion that if that did not produce an improvement in a very short period of time, then there would be a willingness to accept an international force. (ABC Local Radio (Australia), interview transcript)
• It’s just a balance of judgement, Neil, but look, these things are all options but we think that the way things stand, it’s possible that the situation … and it’s only possible … that the situation could improve fairly quickly in East Timor, first of all because the Indonesians are now indicating that they will declare marshall law. Well, we’ll see what that means. (Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, interview transcript)
• For the last five Sundays, from dusk to dawn, the National City Police Department literally has declared `Marshall Law’ upon the residents of National City and upon whomever chooses to use our city streets to eat, shop, and/or socialize. These actions violate our Constitutional Rights “to move about freely without restraint.” (link)
• Br. Steve Cokely announced that a visitor at his meeting on Thurs. 10-14-04 shared information on the possibility of marshal law going into Effect on Mon. 11-1-04. (The Hiltop forum, Oct 27, 2004)
• In short, a “Red” alert will be a de facto call for the imposition of marshal law and we can expect much of the nation to heed such a dire warning. (CounterPunch, February 14, 2003)

Spotted in the wild:

• I agree. Do Japan a favour. Abolish eikaiwa losers and parasite JETS. Bring in professional standards and help purge Japan of pidgeon english by ensuring competent educators with real qualifications. (link)
• i have tried online translators but the pidgeon english it spits out doesn’t make sense. (link)
• His awkward manner, pidgeon French, and wanderlust keep him from settling down. (link)

Spotted in the wild:

• Glaring suspiciously at Ron, Professor McGonagall pushed the portrait back open and went outside. The whole common room listened with baited breath. (J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Bloomsbury, London, 1999, p. 291)
• A big gain in the 2006 runs for gubernatorial and congressional seats will bolster the confidence of Democrats, but I’m sure they remember the obvious in America: Democratic Congress, Republican President… and vice versa. So, with the baited breath of Wiley Coyotes, they pore over blueprints of probability as they seek troubleshooting, eight-ball candidates – the whole exciting miasma of an ultimate victory for the UN’s New World Order. (Enter Stage Right, January 31, 2005)
• NASA boffins are this week watching satellite images with baited breath to see what will happen when an iceberg smashes into a glacier in Antartica. (The Sun, February 9, 2005)
• While everyone waits with baited breath, to see if Terrell Owens’ Willis Reed impression is enough to inspire his Philadelphia Eagles teammates to victory over the heavily-favored New England Patriots in today’s Super Bowl, other games are being played in the NFL. (WEBCommentary, February 6, 2005)
• Conference chief executive John Moules told BBC Sport: “It could affect us and we’re waiting with baited breath.” (BBC Sport, 2 February, 2005)