While regularity can be observed in many aspects of language structure, there are also many different peculiarities that occur in the speech and writing of even the most well spoken and well written among us. One such peculiarity is the malapropism, which was named for the tendency of the character Mrs. Malaprop from Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play The Rivals (1775) to utter such lines as "I have since laid Sir Anthony's preposition before her" and "...she might reprehend the true meaning of what she is saying." Thus, a malapropism is an incorrect substitution of a word or phrase for a word or phrase with a similar pronunciation, sometimes to comic effect.

Like a malapropism, an eggcorn is also a word or phrase with some phonetic similarity to the original or intended word(s). However, an eggcorn also represents an apparent cognitive leap made by the speaker as to the semantic relation between the two words or phrases. So, for instance, eggcorn is derived from acorn not only by the phonetic similarity of the two words but by the perceived similarity of an egg and an acorn, in form and/or function, such that the hearer/speaker incorrectly infers a relationship between the two words.  (For more on the etymology of eggcorn and differences between eggcorns, malapropisms, and related phenomenon, go here and here.)

There is quite a bit of information on eggcorns on the Internet and other media (for instance, NPR has done at least one segment on eggcorns). An invaluable resource is The Eggcorn Database, which now contains 643 eggcorns, including deformation of character, enact revenge on, lack toast and tolerant, mindgrain, mute point, rod iron (or rot iron) and take for granite.* In looking at such lists, it becomes evident that 1) words that are uncommon and/or archaic are often replaced by more common ones (e.g. moot is replaced by mute); 2) it is not always easy to determine the semantic similarity at play between the two words (and thus, whether one is dealing with a malapropism or eggcorn; for instance, Winchell factor from wind chill factor); and 3) some eggcorns are more likely to be a written phenomenon rather than a spoken one (for instance, lapse into a comma and preying mantis).  

The best place to encounter eggcorns is, of course, in natural language use. For instance, I recently heard someone repeatedly used besmirk in a conversation, and I have relatives who use out-of-bounce quite regularly. A colleague of mine recently pointed to the use of in-climate weather in an online forum, an eggcorn that the NPR story linked to above also mentions. (And lest we be tempted to judge too harshly: Your own vocabulary undoubtedly includes words that started their lives as eggcorns but are now accepted as valid words. For instance, the name of the piece of furniture by the pool used for sunbathing? That originated as a borrowing of the French chaise longue 'long chair', which eventually became the American English chaise lounge, and the even more Anglicized lounge chair, through a process known as folk etymology.)

So, what eggcorns have you come across lately? Please feel free to submit in the comment section below.

And in future posts, I will be discussing eggcorns as they appear in pop music, social media, and, of course, the Linguistic Atlas of the Middle Rockies.

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*For defamation of character, exact revenge on, lactose intolerant, migraine, moot point, wrought iron, and take for granted, respectively.