Eggcorn v. dialect

[Arnold M. Zwicky]

On Apr 21, 2005, at 8:53 PM, Wilson Gray wrote:

> If there was a standard for BE, the following would not be eggcorns but
> standard usage:
>
> "dash[-h]oun"  dachshund
> "evry since"    ever since
> "work like a champ/champion"  work like a charm

they could still have had eggcorns in their history.  all three are, in
fact, in the eggcorn database, though only "dashound" is labeled there
as "genuine", with no reservation.  "every since" and "works like a
champ" are both labeled "questionable" -- in the latter case because
the expression might be an idiom blend.

there is a "nearly mainstream" label for reshapings that have gained
wide use: tow the line, chomp at the bit, have another thing coming,
straight-laced, etc.  some people would now treat some of these as
standard, or at least as acceptable alternatives, or as regional
variants.  (others, of course, resist innovation and change
ferociously.) note the carefully chosen "more or less" in chris waigl's
brief description of eggcorns on the website (below).  she means this
literally: some eggcorns are more common, more frequently used, than
the two examples given, some less.
-----
  This site collects unusual spellings of a particular kind, which have
come to be called eggcorns. Typical examples include free reign
(instead of  free rein) or hone in on (instead of home in on), and many
more or less common reshapings of words and expressions: a word or part
of a word is semantically reanalyzed, and the spelling reflects the new
interpretation.
-----

most eggcorns have not spread enough to become standard or nearly
standard usages, but that can happen.

arnold (zwicky at csli.stanford.edu)