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This article was nominated for deletion on 21 December 2006. The result of the discussion was keep/speedy keep.

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Debate / defend / reject / submit examples here

This topic is particularly necessary to clarify the relatively new topic of eggcorns.

• Mythconception instead of misconception — Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.72.151.49 (talk) 09:06, 30 September 2012 (UTC)

• purgery instead of perjury. This is so common that the Misplaced Pages page for Purgery redirects to Perjury. Also see the Wiktionary page --Harikawashi (talk) 08:14, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

• sneak peak instead of sneak peek — Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.17.213.218 (talk) 01:48, 27 November 2012 (UTC)

• "cup of chino" instead of "cappuccino" - this is one I often heard old folks say when I worked at a cafe Ballchef (talk) 23:49, 12 December 2012 (UTC)

• "in the spirit of the moment" instead of the two listed already Ballchef (talk) 23:49, 12 December 2012 (UTC)

• hair suit instead of hirsute — Preceding unsigned comment added by Adam B Cohen (talk • contribs) 06:04, 24 December 2012 (UTC)

• "beckon call" instead of "beck and call" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.221.89.72 (talk) 15:07, 6 January 2013 (UTC)

• In season 7, episode 8 of Friends, the character Joey causes amusement by using the phrase "moo point" for "moot point." When questioned, he explains the idiosyncratic logic behind his eggcorn: "It's like a cow's opinion: it's just doesn't matter. It's moo."

Added by IP 115.87.204.32 27 March 2013. Moved here by Cnilep (talk) 02:06, 28 March 2013 (UTC)

• Ass burgers instead of aspergers. My friends were surprised when I told them it wasnt just made up. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 94.5.146.99 (talk) 18:12, 22 June 2013 (UTC)

• pre-Madonna instead of prima donna Added 00:27, 3 July 2013‎ by User:Sp!ke. Moved here by Cnilep (talk) 01:40, 3 July 2013 (UTC)
  • This is common enough that a redirect from Pre-Madonna (an album) suggests the article for Prima donna. Sp!ke (talk) 14:11, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

• Intensive purposes instead of intents and purposes. http://www.word-detective.com/2009/01/intensive-purposes/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.135.26.41 (talk) 09:10, 14 July 2013

• yay or nay insted of yea or nay

Added by User:Antiaverage (talk) 8 August 2013. Moved here by Cnilep (talk) 00:15, 9 August 2013 (UTC)

• "should/would/could of" instead of "should have" a lot. That's a pretty dumb eggcorn.108.176.232.60 (talk) 23:06, 17 September 2013 (UTC)

• "the pot calling the kettle back" instead of "The pot calling the kettle black"
• "damp squid" instead of "Damp squib"

Two addition from 86.19.169.154, moved here by Cnilep (talk) 00:54, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

• "wet your appetite" instead of "whet your appetite" — Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.190.253.144 (talk) 12:43, 1 December 2013 (UTC)

• Trash metal or thrash metal? 130.233.215.14 (talk) 11:15, 12 December 2013 (UTC)

• Step foot instead of set foot TypoBoy (talk) 05:15, 14 December 2013 (UTC)

• "Take a different tact," which should be "take a different tack." — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.201.46.99 (talk) 01:50, 17 December 2013 (UTC)

• "cockpiece" instead of "codpiece" Maxvgc (talk) 06:29, 3 January 2014 (UTC)

"Sliding pond," which should be " slide upon." Seen in Constance Garnet translation of "War and Peace." (User: Edwardtemple) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Edwardtemple (talk • contribs) 14:54, 16 March 2014 (UTC)

Add a List instead of / in addition to the examples

Having the examples is nice, but I also think a list of these would be welcome, especially for people wondering which form is the correct form of a word. --Harikawashi (talk) 08:16, 12 October 2012 (UTC)

There are currently links to two lists of eggcorns in the External links section. A new stand alone list on Misplaced Pages might be created subject to policies on notability and verifiability, as well as the standards described at Misplaced Pages:Manual of Style/Stand-alone lists. Cnilep (talk) 02:10, 13 October 2012 (UTC)

Moving from here to the article

At what point are items deemed important enough to move to the main article? We can't just keep a list on the talk page without having some sort of process for moving qualified candidates to the article, otherwise they remain here forever. Sp!ke (talk) 14:14, 3 July 2013 (UTC)

Much as there is no deadline, there is no hard and fast rule for when or why to change the examples in the article. Note, by the way, that the examples are not "important enough" to be included; they are illustrative of the phenomenon. There is a suggestion, above, to create a stand-alone list, which presumably would include all notable (not quite the same thing as "important") examples meeting its criteria for inclusion.

In practice, most example languish here until the list gets too long and is moved to a talk archive. The last example added to the article was preying mantis in February 2012. Preying mantis had actually been in the article until December 2011. Before that expatriot was added in July 2010. These were added because editors discussed them on this page and decided they were better examples than rot iron and old-timer's disease, respectively. Cnilep (talk) 01:53, 4 July 2013 (UTC)

I favor moving the "for all intensive purposes" example to the page now. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Xplodotron (talk • contribs) 18:53, 23 October 2013 (UTC)

Individuals Known for Eggcorns Section

I think it would be nice to add a section where we discuss (or at least list) people (real people and fictional characters) who are known for their eggcorns. One example that comes to mind is Ricky from Trailer Park Boys, whose eggcorns and malapropisms have been nicknamed "Rickyisms" by fans. Rickyisms include "escape goat" for scapegoat, "incubaker" for incubator, "Juniper" for Jupiter, "Vacational School" for vocational school, and "Survival of the Fitness" for survival of the fittest.

What do people think of the idea of including a section of this sort? Or is it more that when someone's plays on words achieve that level of notability it warrants a separate entry? For example, we of course have an entry for Spoonerisms. Probably nobody else will ever achieve the notability of Spooner in this respect, but there are some others who are also famous for plays on words, and I am thinking that for those who are particularly known for their eggcorns, it might be nice to note such things in the eggcorn article. Thoughts? Tamarleigh (talk) 05:40, 19 December 2013 (UTC)

No objection in principle, but I'd be surprised if there were enough such individuals to merit a separate section. Based on the examples you've given, it looks like most Rickyisms aren't eggcorns. (Only one of the five examples, "incubaker", looks like an eggcorn to me.) Do you know of any reliable sources that link Ricky to eggcorns? The show's producer says something about him in this video, but my internet isn't working well enough for me to see it. Adrian J. Hunter 11:41, 19 December 2013 (UTC)

Here's my transcription of producers Barrie Dunn and Mike Volpe's remarks from the video Adrian J. Hunter linked to. (I may have missed some words, but this is roughly accurate.)

Dunn: We call them Rickyisms because these things are things that Ricky says, or mistakes. We call them 'Rickyisms', but it's all these phrases or expressions that Ricky comes out with that totally changes the original meaning. Actually, the meaning is better than the original.

Volpe: Oh, it's- you understand the meaning.

Dunn: He takes words and he, and he uses them wrong.

They call the words "Rickyisms" and "mistakes", but not "eggcorns". Cnilep (talk) 03:27, 20 December 2013 (UTC)

1. "Friends - moo point". YouTube. Retrieved 2013-03-27.
2. "pre-madonna vs prima donna : Common Errors in English". Bee English Dictionary. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
3. "Is 'yay or nay' an acceptable alternative to 'yea or nay?'". English Language & Usage. Retrieved 2013-08-08.
4. Template:Http://en.wikipedia.org/The pot calling the kettle black
5. Template:Http://en.wikipedia.org/Damp squib
6. Howard, Ross. "The Eggcornin' Bob Dylan". alt.usage.english. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
7. "The Eggcorn Database". Retrieved 14 December 2013.

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