Eggcorn?

[FRITZ JUENGLING]

Yes, some people DO buy morning glory seeds.  That reminds me of when my wife and I were in the foodstore shortly after we moved to Minnesota. We were in the fresh produce area and saw, to our great disbelief and amazement--blackberries!! The price was ridiculous-- several dollars for a a large handful--but the fact that they were there was enough to make my wife laugh.
Fritz J

>>> wilson.gray at RCN.COM 05/17/05 11:07AM >>>
An excellent question! I was hurt to see my beloved Southern
honeysuckle derided in a Northeern news article as an "invasive weed."
On the other hand, I was shocked to see that no less a company than
Burpee sells morning-glory seeds. There are people willing to pay for
*morning-glory* seeds?! What's next? People buying jimson-weed seeds?!

-Wilson Gray


On May 17, 2005, at 12:17 AM, James C Stalker wrote:

>
>
> -------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> nder:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       James C Stalker <stalker at MSU.EDU>
> Subject:      Re: Eggcorn?
> -----------------------------------------------------------------------
> --------
>
> Some pop culture impetus to "spreading like wildflowers."  Dolly
> Parton does
> a song in which she maintains that "wildflowers don't care where they
> grow,"
> suggesting moving on, spreading out, etc.  As I was engaged in the
> manly
> ritual of taking out the garbage tonight, I took stock of my yard and
> decided that I was going to have to do something about the
> forget-me-nots,
> phlox, and buttercups, which/that are taking over my garden.  They are
> all
> native to Michigan and love the cool weather.  They don't care where
> they
> grow, especially given the fertilizer and watering I've provided.  In
> fact,
> they are spreading like wildflowers.  There seems to be a definition
> problem.  What constitutes a "wildflower"?  A delicate thing that
> needs a
> very specific enviornment, or a hardy flower that's cute in the woods
> but is
> a weed in our garden?
>
> Jim
>
>
> Jonathan Lighter writes:
>
>> The good news is that Google as yet provides no hits for "spreading
>> like wallflowers."
>>
>> JL
>>
>> Laurence Horn <laurence.horn at YALE.EDU> wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>> -----------------------
>> Sender: American Dialect Society
>> Poster: Laurence Horn
>> Subject: Re: Eggcorn?
>> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>> ---------
>>
>> At 12:33 PM +0100 5/12/05, Michael Quinion wrote:
>>> A subscriber has e-mailed me thus: "I am a college instructor, and
>>> the other day I was grading papers when I came across this: 'In the
>>> early 1960s, rock and roll was spreading like wildflowers.' I found
>>> it oddly apt and a little poetic, if totally wrong."
>>>
>> It may be wrong, but it's spreading like...well, let's see:
>>
>> "spreading like wildfire" 42,200
>> "spreading like wildflowers" 352
>>
>> Larry
>>
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>
>
>
> James C. Stalker
> Department of English
> Michigan State University
>