Eggcorn

[Dennis R. Preston]

I'm with Larry on the simpler 'acre' for 'earth' replacement (from
the TV show, one of the few things which does not make me proud to be
a Hungarian). In fact, 'God's Little Acre' was withheld from many
children (although I got my little hooks on it) and is a much less
likely source.

dInIs



>At 2:48 PM -0500 12/27/04, Wilson Gray wrote:
>>Heard on today's The People's Court, spoken by Judge Marilyn Millan:
>>
>>How, _on God's green acre_, do you explain this?
>>
>>For the younger members: back in the day, there was a popular novel and
>>a movie with the title, "God's Little Acre," which the good judge
>>appears to have crossed with the common expression, "on God's green
>>earth."
>>
>>-Wilson Gray
>
>You're omitting another crucial ingredient in the blend:  "Green
>Acres", a TV show from the late '60's, spun off from Petticoat
>Junction.  No, I wasn't a devotee (it didn't go well with all that
>smoked banana peel).
>
>Larry


--
Dennis R. Preston
University Distinguished Professor of Linguistics
Department of Linguistics and Germanic, Slavic, Asian, and African Languages
A-740 Wells Hall
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
Phone: (517) 432-3099
Fax: (517) 432-2736
preston at msu.edu