Eggcorn: vagary = something vague

[Wilson Gray]

Generally, postings don't get replied to, unless someone feels that
the content of the post, in his opinion, at least, is controversial in
some way. I agree with what you have to say and, apparently, so does -
or "so doesn't," as they say in Boston - everyone else. If you had
claimed, for instance that "vaguery" is beginning to be misspelled as
"vagary," several people would have found it necessary to reply to
your post.

-Wilson Gray



On 8/24/06, Karl Hagen <karl at polysyllabic.com> wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Karl Hagen <karl at POLYSYLLABIC.COM>
> Subject:      Eggcorn: vagary = something vague
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> I posted about this some time ago in the eggcorn database forum, but got
> no response, so I thought I'd try here.
>
> In that earlier post
> (http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/forum/viewtopic.php?id=517) I dug up
> examples of this confusion accompanied by a spelling change (vagueries,
> etc.), which was how I originally encountered it. Recently, it occurred
> to me to check for instances that would not offend a spell-checker. They
> were easy to find. For example:
>
>  From http://www.retropoll.org/press_release_poll02.htm:
>
> "The question on war against various nations contains compound elements.
> By including other unnamed nations as well as Iraq, the poll
> intentionally incorporates the vagaries that are part of the double
> speak issued by Government officials and advisors about attacking other
> nations. However, these vagaries have unclear impacts upon peoples'
> understanding of the question, so that this element should be reworded
> for future polls."
>
>  From a National Association of Physician Recruiters newsletter
> (http://www.napr.org/newsletter/NAPR2004WINTERNEWS.pdf):
>
> "The Code of Ethics was amended this year. In reality, the Ethics
> Committee and the Board of Directors almost rewrote the Code in its
> entirety. The changes were made because our members overwhelmingly
> mandated them. The concepts did not change, rather, they were clarified
> and modernized for easier interpretation. The sections and subsections
> of the Code most frequently misinterpreted or abused were expanded to
> remove, as much as possible, the vagaries and unclear language."
>
>  From the Virginia Business Magazine
> (http://www.gatewayva.com/biz/virginiabusiness/magazine/yr2006/may06/region2.shtml)
>
> "The demands were strong, but the language vague, leaving a worried
> populace to wonder if rolling back development around the base meant
> condemning or purchasing the more than 3,000 homes and businesses that
> were already established when the Navy redrew the lines of its crash
> zones in 1998.... For nine months leading up to the deadline, city
> planners, financial officers and attorneys struggled to develop the
> plan. Befuddled by vagaries (such as 'reverse' in development, and
> 'incompatible' land use) laid out by the federal government, they
> weren't sure what would satisfy the demands."
>
>  From http://www.carter.democrats.org.au/html/print.php?sid=259:
>
> "Although the outcome of the bill is unclear because of its hazy
> vagaries, it may be the case that, if passed, this bill will restrict
> the activities of legitimate domestic voluntary euthanasia advocacy groups."
>
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>


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