On Mon, 8 Aug 2005 11:48:05 -0700, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at YAHOO.COM> wrote: >If this jest could be pushed back a few years, and shone to have had a >wide circulation, it might well have had some bearing on the creation of >the "brass tacks" metaphor. Eggcorn alert-- that is, if JL is seeking illumination... --Ben Zimmer