The Eggcorn Database(eggcorns.lascribe.net)
eggcorns.lascribe.net
The Eggcorn Database
https://eggcorns.lascribe.net
38 comments
In case anyone else is confused by the short list that's just the way they use their main page. If you want a quick read list there is the browse page instead https://eggcorns.lascribe.net/browse-eggcorns/
There is another species of malaprop, one that has no name as far as I know, that I was made aware of by someone who was writing a character for a game who would use them copiously.
They are the intersection of an idiom or colloquialism and a mixed metaphor. Examples include “I'm running a little behind the eight ball” or “really went the extra mile in his shoes.”
They are the intersection of an idiom or colloquialism and a mixed metaphor. Examples include “I'm running a little behind the eight ball” or “really went the extra mile in his shoes.”
Fantastic! We must ask the proper authorities to weigh in, and invent something if necessary.
The language stack exchange, maybe? Social networks #linguistics tags?
Mixaprop can stand in as a name until we find one more true
The language stack exchange, maybe? Social networks #linguistics tags?
Mixaprop can stand in as a name until we find one more true
I’m partial to “colloquialisions.”
phrasal portmanteau. phrasmanteau?
Sesquaprop
I’ve always liked “I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it.”
I just heard a podcast that mentions "we’ll burn that bridge when we come to it". There's a transcript here:
https://www.quickanddirtytips.com/qdtarchive/mixed-metaphors...
Here's the relevant part: "sometimes people also like to play with mixed metaphors. It can be a fun way to turn a cliché on its head. For example, I’ve seen people mix the metaphors “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it,” meaning let’s put off the decision, and “Don’t burn your bridges” meaning don’t destroy a something you’ll need later. They get “We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it,” which combines the meaning of the two metaphors into something like “We’re ready to fight when the right time comes,” and still maintains imagery that makes sense."
"We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it" seems to be considered a mixed metaphor, rather than anything more exotic.
Here's the relevant part: "sometimes people also like to play with mixed metaphors. It can be a fun way to turn a cliché on its head. For example, I’ve seen people mix the metaphors “Let’s cross that bridge when we come to it,” meaning let’s put off the decision, and “Don’t burn your bridges” meaning don’t destroy a something you’ll need later. They get “We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it,” which combines the meaning of the two metaphors into something like “We’re ready to fight when the right time comes,” and still maintains imagery that makes sense."
"We’ll burn that bridge when we come to it" seems to be considered a mixed metaphor, rather than anything more exotic.
I have not heard that before. My somewhat litteral spectrum disorder brain implies the bridge is burnt before it is crossed.
Common ones I hear are "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it" - to delay an action or decision and "Don't burn (all) your bridges..." - leave a path open for a reversal.
Common ones I hear are "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it" - to delay an action or decision and "Don't burn (all) your bridges..." - leave a path open for a reversal.
> the bridge is burnt before it is crossed.
That’s the usual interpretation I’ve seen, yes. It’s a mix between the other two metaphors you mention, with the humorous implication that the speaker is going to delay taking an action until dealing with it will cause further problems.
Example sentence: “My manager doesn’t know I can’t work on Wednesday, but he hasn’t posted the schedule for the week yet so I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it.”
That’s the usual interpretation I’ve seen, yes. It’s a mix between the other two metaphors you mention, with the humorous implication that the speaker is going to delay taking an action until dealing with it will cause further problems.
Example sentence: “My manager doesn’t know I can’t work on Wednesday, but he hasn’t posted the schedule for the week yet so I’ll burn that bridge when I get to it.”
Ah, yes. I see that now. Thank you.
Brooks & Dunn had a semi-popular song in the 90’s that used a variation on that: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ZxIwlV9qOZs
One bridge at a time
Not exactly "eggcorns", but as a father of a 3 year old, I'm constantly getting a kick out of the incorrect but plausible words she uses. E.g. "bump beds" for "bunk beds", "de-odor-mint" for "deodorant", "screamer" for "speaker".
Love those great examples! But I wonder why you say Not exactly "eggcorns", as "incorrect but plausible" is pretty much the definition: https://eggcorns.lascribe.net/about/ (I guess maybe because they're not exact homophones?)
It has manner/manor, but it's missing my favourite one: "to the manor born". There was an English TV series named that (as a pun), and probably a majority of people here don't realise that the original phrase is "to the manner born", from Shakespeare. Arguably it's not even an eggcorn but a phrase in its own right now, so maybe that's why it's not listed.
I've never heard that expression in either of those forms
They’re both “right”, people with manors have manners, so I’m not sure but think that might dq it as an eggcorn.
The idea of the eggcorn database is that these are descriptivist linguists - they believe language already existed anyway and they're just explaining an observable phenomenon, not somehow dictating what is or is not English. Some of these changes just remain forever considered mistakes. If you woke up a hundred years from now the chance everybody calls the little things which fall from oak trees "eggcorns" is negligible, they're acorns, you've misheard.
But on the other hand it's possible that in 2124 everybody considers "bi-election" normal as duh, there was an extra election, that's two, so bi-election, losing the analysis which got us the current word "by-election".
There are eggcorns related to the manor/ manner distinction, in particular "bedside manor" seems like a pretty obvious misanalysis. But you're correct that both "to the manner born" and "to the manor born" are considered reasonable idiomatic English.
But on the other hand it's possible that in 2124 everybody considers "bi-election" normal as duh, there was an extra election, that's two, so bi-election, losing the analysis which got us the current word "by-election".
There are eggcorns related to the manor/ manner distinction, in particular "bedside manor" seems like a pretty obvious misanalysis. But you're correct that both "to the manner born" and "to the manor born" are considered reasonable idiomatic English.
The point is "to the manner born" is a quote from Shakespeare's Hamlet, where it was coined.
"content-type: text/html; charset=UTF-8" but I'm seeing a lot of sequences such as "U+00E2 LATIN SMALL LETTER A WITH CIRCUMFLEX, U+20AC EURO SIGN, U+2122 TRADE MARK SIGN" where there's clearly supposed to be an apostrphe.
UTF-8, like pimping, ain't easy.
It really is just save your files and database encoded with it and use the right meta tag.
It is yes.
Here's a little video from YouTube channel "Rob's Words" that I saw which introduced me to the concept: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F12LSAbos7A
I'd love to cross reference this against all the Eggcorns from the Adam and Joe show (and subsequently the Adam Buxton Podcast).
Today I learn they weren't the ones who coined "Eggcorns"
I think in recent years a major source of these are OCR errors in scanning text. Occasionally while reading texts from Gutenberg project, one finds mysterious strange words which aren't found in any dictionary.
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Looks like the forum members have names for some the "bone apple tea" type phrases too, such as "controcorn".
it took me a long time to realize that you have to say “eggcorn” with a west coast accent to make it sound anything like “acorn”
Where I live, the pronunciation of both these words is indistinguishable.
"We were in a vicarious position, but we flushed out a solution over instant messenging."
This calls for a bottoms-up approach
The trailer was golfing with flames, there was nothing I could do buddy.
Worst case Ontario right there.
Worst case Ontario right there.
"It's all water under the fridge"