"an emoticon of privacy"

[Ben Zimmer]

On MSNBC, Megan McCain said the Obamas deserve "an emoticon of privacy":

http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/01/meghan-mccain-give-obamas-emoticon-of-privacy.html

A simple malaprop for "modicum," or more of an eggcorn? (She said it
twice, so it wasn't just a slip of the tongue.) An emoticon is a small
squiggly thing, so I can vaguely see a semantic basis for it.

--bgz

--
Ben Zimmer
http://benzimmer.com/

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org