a
adieu, without further
V: much adieu. Conflation of adieu (goodbye) with ado (complicated doings, ceremony) to mean "without saying anything more." Without further adieu ... the next remix album is ... *drumroll* Animal Crossing!
SHINSHUINBLOOM.TUMBLR.COM 14 MAR 2014
age, cutting
Mixes cutting edge, a METAPHOR for technological newness, with modern age, a characterization of recent history connoting up-to-date technology and attitudes. In businesses I bring cutting age innovation, to assist leadership and their teams transform themselves and their business.
WWW.EVENTBRITE.COM 20 MAR 2014
Alcatraz around my neck, like an
A SIMILE that confuses a notorious prison with the neckwear of the speaker in Samuel Taylor Coleridge's famous poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner; the mariner is notorious for killing an albatross, and his fellow sailors consequently force him to wear it in penance. I always found a job to be like an Alcatraz around my neck.
WWW.NPAPER-WEHAA.COM 3 MAY 2014
all be darned
V: all be damned. Mixes up expressions of anger (such as darn it all!) and surprise (such as I'll be darned!) to suggest something so surprising that everybody should be darned, or damned. I mentioned a pink-eyed pea (cow pea) that my mentor, John Neal used to make a risotto with. All be darned if they didn't grow them....
WWW.RUEDUMAINERESTAURANT.COM 9 APR 2014
alterior motive
Merges alternative (other) with ulterior (hidden) to mean other motive. I don't have an alterior motive and I am not paid to do this.
AMYSHAHMD.COM 9 APR 2014
allusion, optical
An allusion refers to something without naming it directly, whereas an illusion is something the senses misperceive. So a drawing that nods to the work of M. C. Escher might be an optical allusion to optical illusions. Many allusions are illusory, but this mistake rarely qualifies as an EGGCORN. Another optical allusion, if you look careful and long enough, you will see a concealed weapon!
WWW.FIELDANDSTREAM.COM 23 JUL 2014
and absurdum, reductio
English's and often gets mixed up with the Latin ad (to or on), as in the following example, as well as in AND HOMINEM and AND NAUSEAM. This EGGCORN suggests something small and absurd. The standard phrase,reductio ad absurdum, means something slightly different: simplifying an argument to its essence to demonstrate its absurdity. If you have a copy of Lincoln Murder Conspiracies see the chapter titled "Reductio and Absurdum."
WWW.LINCOLN-ASSASSINATION.COM 23 JUL 2014
and a while, once
Confuses once in a while with phrases such as once and for all, and a while (longer), awhile, once and future,once and again, etc. "Once in a" is usually pronounced "Once 'n uh," as if it were "and a," adding to the confusion. FX is also concerned about why it is important to make room in your life for alcohol every once and a while.
WWW.TEENHEALTHFX.COM 10 JUL 2014
and cheek, tongue
Possibly confuses tongue in cheek (being ironic or flippant) with tongue-and-groove (a type of joint often used for flooring and siding). Flippant people are considered "cheeky," and their speech might be a case of "tongue" and "cheek." [W] ith all due respect, unless that was a tongue and cheek remark, I'm afraid you been downing more wine than I previously had thought.
WWW.BERWYNTALK.COM 4 AUG 2014
and chief, commander
Commander and chief is a description, not a military rank. Britain's Prince Charles, for example, was given the rank of commander (and later admiral) in the Royal Navy, and may one day be king, the largely ceremonial chiefexecutive of the state, but would not exercise authority as commander in chief of the UK armed forces, a rank with which the description is often confused. Why would a man who was running for the office of Commander and Chief of the US Armed Forces refuse to discuss his service in the military?
WWW.HEREINREALITY.COM 17 MAY 2014
and hell, sure
Sure and hell confuses sure as hell with expostulations such as hell, yes! Some eighteenth-century sermons refer to hell as being "sure," influenced by Calvinistic beliefs that people were naturally depraved and doomed to hell unless saved by divine grace. My car has NO creature comforts, but it sure and hell is a blast to drive....
WWW.YELLOWBULLET.COM 1 AUG 2014
and hominem
V: and homonym. The argumentum ad hominem (Latin for argument "to the man") criticizes an opponent's character rather than ideas, the way some politicians discredit their rivals; and hominem implies that the attacks are something of an afterthought. The Crimson's Confidential Guide to Harvard would be a more valuable publication if there were less unsubstantiated editorializing and fewer and hominem attacks on particular Instructors.
WWW.THECRIMSON.COM 10 APR 2014
and nauseam
V: and infinitum, and hoc. The Latin ad nauseam translates as "something repeated so often it becomes sickening." Many EGGCORN-ists are thinking not of the translation (literally to the point of nausea) but rather of the simple idea that it's something extra, or et cetera, the Latin phrase with which it's often confused. But with nature versus nurture, the dichotomy is all in the eye of the beholder, and the real situation is much more complex (as is pointed out and nauseam).
BOOKS.GOOGLE.COM 10 APR 2014
and point, case
In point was a seventeenth-century expression meaning pertinent, so case in point meant a pertinent case. It's now confused with two associated items-a case and a point, much as set and match are associated with tennis victory. One case and point, Rodney King. May he rest in peace.
THEGRIO.COM 13 MAY 2014
and tolerant, lactose
V: lack toast and tolerant, lack toast intolerant. You might hear lactose as an adjective like verbose, but one that has something to do with digestion rather than with wordiness. True lactose intolerance describes difficulty digesting milk products. The Internet's Eggcorn Database identifies the variant lack toast and tolerant as a "rare double EGGCORN"-but most of the examples that Google turns up are intended to be funny and aren't true MALAPROPISMS. That summer I became lactose and tolerant which helps.
WWW.PETA.ORG 25 SEPT 2014
annunciate
Annunciate is an antique word meaning to announce (now used mostly to describe Gabriel's announcement of the miracle of the Virgin Mary's pregnancy) that gets confused with enunciate (to pronounce a word). The quick fix is to take a few moments off mic, alone in the hall before your performance and read the piece slowly, forcing yourself to annunciate each word fully.
WWW.SOUNDSWRITE.CA 4 MAY 2014
another words
V: in another words. Mistaken for in other words, which is used as a restatement. The MALAPROPISM has the logic typical of an EGGCORN, conveying the sense of another word is..., or in another [person's] words. Can dogs remember things? (in another words are they smart?)
ANSWERS.YAHOO.COM 11 APR 2014
ansister
Since both sister and ancestor are family-related, this mistake seems natural-or "unnatural," as the case may be: The only way one's sister could be one's ancestor is through incest. I'm looking to see if callie or calli a[-] is my ansister.
WWW.GENEALOGYSEARCH.COM 8 APR 2014
a posable thumb
V: a poseable thumb. A professional hand model would have a posable thumb; only primates have opposable thumbs with which they can touch the fingers on their hands. Ok, barring our posable thumb and their lengthy tails, I've heard it said that canine anatomy is very similar to human anatomy.
BOARDS.STRAIGHTDOPE.COM 21 JUL 2014
approach, above
V: beyond approach. The STANDARD USAGES, above reproach and beyond reproach (criticism), perhaps imply a disrespectful approach (drawing near to someone) because reproach sounds similar and has a similar ETYMOLOGY. Paul urges Timothy to insist that an elder is above approach.
WWW.TEKNIA.COM 14 MAR 2014.
assault, take it with a grain
A grain of salt proverbially makes unpalatable food more savory, and when used figuratively, it makes hard-to-swallow (or unbelievable) news a little easier to digest. The EGGCORN a grain assault accomplishes this with a lot of roughage instead. Advice? Take it with a grain assault, but don't balk at the advice from people who have some idea of what they're talking about.
WWW.ZYNGAPLAYERFORUMS.COM 11 APR 2014
assume, I would just
To assume means to infer or suppose something but not state it. I'd just as soon means I'd rather or I'd prefer. It becomes an EGGCORN for those who would rather keep their preferences unstated. Sure, I'd gladly accept a dozen red roses from my main squeeze on February fourteenth but I'd just assume he surprises me with a few giant sunflowers on any random day of the week.
DASHOFLES.COM 11 APR 2014
atom, doesn't know (you) from
Confuses Adam, the generic man, and atom, the generic elemental particle. I have never seen a [pain management] Doctor giving high dosages of any medication right of the bat, they don't know you from atom, and they like to protect themselves against drug seekers....
WWW.DAILYSTRENGTH.ORG 9 APR 2014
auger well for
V: all goes well for. An auger (a tool with a pointy end) and the verb augur (from an augury, which means an omen, and can have a point to make about the end) are confused here. McGraw-Hill Breakup Augers Well for CFO Callahan.
BLOGS.WSJ.COM/CFO/2012 12 APR 2014
away, anchors
Confuses a ship getting under way with casting off moorings (which, unlike anchors, are left behind), and with the phrase anchors a-weigh. To weigh anchor means to free an anchor from the bottom and bring it aboard. At a young age she sang along with the Lawrence Welk show, and at age 11, learned to play piano and sing "Anchors Away" in tribute to her older brother, then a Naval Academy midshipman.
EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG RETRIEVED 8 APR 2014
a way, right
Confuses getting somewhere as directly as possible, right away, with the legal right to pass across someone else's land, a right-of-way. Right past his house he has a gate crossing the right a way and he allows his cows to roam across the right away.
WWW.EXPERTLAW.COM 24 JUL 2014
awkword
What language flub could be more awkward? This entire dictionary owes its existence to awkwords. Well, I think the best way to deal with those awkword silence moments you are bound to have in a conversation is to be honest about it and not try to use some preprogrammed default escape routes.
WWW.ROOSHV.COM 11 APR 2014
axle, double (triple, etc.)
Wheels rotate on an axle, much as skaters rotate when performing the spinning jump named after Norwegian AxelPaulsen. Only the latter is judged at the Olympics, however. The system is used to help figure skaters build confidence as they start to learn new figure skating maneuvers, jumps, tricks and lifts ... [including] Single Axle, Double Axle, Triple Axle, Inside Axles, One Foot Axles, etc.
WWW.JUMPHARNESS.COM 11 APR 2014
Copyright © 2015 by Robert Alden Rubin