eggcorn dynamics

[Victor Steinbok]

It's certainly possible and I considered that briefly when looking up
data. "Pedlar" gets 535K raw ghits (compared to millions for the other
two) and "backpedlar" gets a whopping 235 raw. Given these numbers, I
initially dismissed the idea, but it's not unreasonable.

    VS-)

Alison Murie wrote:
> On Aug 24, 2009, at 7:18 PM, Victor Steinbok wrote:
>
>> Urban Dictionary has an entry for "backpedaler". I found nothing in
>> other on-line dictionaries. Checking Google, you get 79000+ raw ghits
>> for "backpeddler" and only 4900+ raw ghits for "backpedaler". But,
>> looking up the verbs paints a different picture:
>>
>> 233000 for "backpedal" and 39800 for "backpeddle" (complete with "Did
>> you mean _backpedal_?"
>>
>> I wonder how often that happens. I have no clue as to why the derived
>> noun would end up more scrambled than the verb. Looking up just
>> peddle(r)/pedal(r), gives some unexpected numbers, but I am not sure
>> they explain the derivatives:
>>
>> 4.7 mil for pedal
>> 0.93 mil for pedaler
>> 1.47 mil for peddle
>> 1.73 mil for peddler
>>
>>   VS-)
>>
> ~~~~~~~~~~
> I wonder of the variant spelling, "pedlar," doesn't somehow contribute
> to this confusion.  I know I have to stammer a bit in my mind over
> "peddler."
> AM
>
>
>

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