Eggcorn: vagary = something vague

[Karl Hagen]

Fair enough, although by "no response," what I really meant was that no
one bothered to put it in the database, and so I was worried that it had
fallen through the cracks.

Wilson Gray wrote:
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: Eggcorn: vagary = something vague
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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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