[Ads-l] Another flap-happy eggcorn

Ben Zimmer bgzimmer at GMAIL.COM
Wed Oct 10 19:16:15 UTC 2018


See also "short-sided," with the alternation moving in the other direction
-- noted on the ECDB in 2005:

https://eggcorns.lascribe.net/english/435/short-sided/

...and by Larry in 2007:

http://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2007-August/073380.html

On Wed, Oct 10, 2018 at 3:03 PM Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at yale.edu>
wrote:

> So we know there are reanalyses prompted by neutralization of intervocalic
> flapped alveolars.  For “soft-pedal” we have “soft-peddle” (in the ECDB)
> and “soft-petal” (attested, but not in the ECDB).  I just encountered
> another one today in a post on The A.V., from a review of Better Call
> Saul:  “blind-sighted” for “blindsided”.  Yes, blind sight is a thing, and
> I’ve even read a crime novel titled “Blindsighted”, which was no doubt
> intended as a pun (the victim is blind, so at least the literal meaning was
> clearly intended).  But in the context in question, “blindsided” was
> intended:
>
> ================
> Jimmy’s interview is entirely relatable for any person who has “aced” a
> job interview. You’ve gone from a job interview to a friendly conversation
> with the people you want to impress. And it seems like a conversation. And
> you hear those words “we just have a few more interviews to go, and then
> we’ll get back to you.” And all of a sudden, you’re blind sighted. And the
> first thing you want to know is “Can you just tell me what the hell I did
> wrong, because it seems like we totally hit it off in the conference room.”
> ================
>
> A subsequent commenter points out the “mondegreen”, and the original
> commenter concedes the point.
>
>

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