Here at 2WC we love a good turn of phrase. I don’t know about you, but I for one am always chomping at the bit for a well-placed play on words.
If you’re constantly wracking your brain to get your idioms just right, but find yourself often unable to tow the line, I have good news for you, there’s now a word for that:
egg·corn
ˈeɡkôrn/
noun
a word or phrase that results from a mishearing or misinterpretation of another, an element of the original being substituted for one that sounds very similar or identical.
Long have I waited (one might say with baited breath) for a contribution to the English language that even Shakespeare would be proud of. It’s arrived!
As you might have guessed, eggcorn is itself an eggcorn of the word acorn. We’ve all done it, slightly altered the common vernacular on accident from time to time.
Mind you, the existence of a word for such gaffes, doesn’t give us free reign. I know some of you could care less, but there’s still value in using correct English. You may get off scotch-free for now, but allowing for too many eggcorns into your life may get you your just desserts in the end.
TIME: This Is What ‘Eggcorns’ Are (and Why They’re Jar-Droppingly Good)
…bi-daily smile…
