NBA eggcorn

[Benjamin Zimmer]

The San Antonio Spurs are currently demolishing the Phoenix Suns in Game 3
of the NBA Western Conference Finals.  During the third quarter, ESPN's
Jim Gray breathlessly reported from the sideline: "I spoke to Mike
D'Antoni as he just came out here, the Suns head coach -- he said, 'We are
playing mano on mano.'"

Larry Horn already reported the reinterpretation of "mano a mano" (< Sp.
'hand to hand') as 'man to man' or 'man on man' ("One good eggcorn
deserves another," posted 11 Dec 2004). So "mano on mano" transforms a
covert eggcorn into an overt one.


--Ben Zimmer