"chomp at/on the bit": eggcorn?

Arnold M. Zwicky zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU
Tue Nov 13 17:42:17 UTC 2007


On Nov 13, 2007, at 7:38 AM, Joel Berson wrote:

> If "chomping at the bit" is an eggcorn, it must have become so very
> early.  OED2 has a citation under chomp (v) for "chomp on the bit"
> from c1645 (The citadel here+serves as a shrewd curb unto her [the
> town] which makes her chomp upon the bit.), and others for forms of
> "chomp" in 1714, 1848, and the 20th century.

see my discussion on Language Log:

AZ, 3/28/05: Chomping at the font:
   http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/002018.html

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