"coach potato" another possible eggcorn?

Mon Dec 1 04:02:49 UTC 2008

If it's an eggcorn, wouldn't it be consistent rather than one in the
title and another in the text? Also, I don't know that the distant
position of "o" and "a" on the QWERTY board is necessarily telling.
Just guessing, it seems reasonable that "a" after "o" is easier than
"u" after "o" because it's an alternation of hands.

Without looking at each one, I think www.amazon.ca/Coach-Potato-Mouse/dp/1572433841
  is excellent evidence of "coach" being a typo.

One other possibility is whether "couch" is a universal word. It is
the default in Seattle for a davenport/sofa, but I have the feeling
that "sofa" is more common in some regions, in which case the eggcorn
case would be stronger. BB

On Nov 30, 2008, at 7:53 PM, Herb Stahlke wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: "coach potato" another possible eggcorn?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> That may well account for some of the hits, and others are obvious
> plays on "couch potato."  Another possible instance of a typo is at
>
> www.topix.com/winter-sports/jeff-pain/2008/10/reformed-coach-potato-sets-sights-on-skeleton-glory
>
> where "coach" occurs in the title of the article and "couch" in the
> text.  The same for
>
> astro.umsystem.edu/atm/ARCHIVES/SEP97/msg00583.html
> findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4182/is_/ai_n10103745
> www.nursinglink.com/news/articles/4776-exercise-in-a-pill-helps-coach-potato-mice-
> www.virtualteen.org/forums/showthread.php?t=31033
> www.printfection.com/totalradshirts/Coach-Potato-Hooded-Sweatshirt/_p_1590224
> archive.lancashireeveningtelegraph.co.uk/2002/3/7/630115.html
>
> It's not clear, though, that this one is a typo
>
> ablogwithoutabicycle.blogspot.com/2008/08/dnc-live-blogging-coach-
> potato-style.html
>
> or these
>
> www.zazzle.com/coach_potato_button-145296083127768035
> mikeandkirstenschueler.blogspot.com/2007/04/pregnant-or-coach-potato-
> you-decide.html
> www.techimo.com/forum/imo-community/148010-jp-coach-potato-internet-geek-2.html
> twitter.com/CemB/status/1008674712
> www.flickr.com/photos/edgarmcgauley/1367174580/
> www.amazon.ca/Coach-Potato-Mouse/dp/1572433841
> talkback.zdnet.com/5208-9595-0.html?
> forumID=1&threadID=15625&messageID=311049&start=0
> findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_/ai_n14464095
> http://www.amazon.com/gp/pdp/profile/A18TIF1XBW9AQ/178-2635464-1957267
> adjusting-wife.blogspot.com/2008/09/coach-potato.html
>
> That's a sampling of the first 100 hits.  There are enough cases of
> "coach" in an article title but "couch" in the body of the article,
> and in decent newspapers, to make typo too weak an explanation.  Given
> the positions of <u> and <a> on the keyboard, the usual finger-slip
> typo is unlikely.  The nine instances I cite that may be eggcorns, and
> I don't know that they are, are about half of the possibles.  Other
> hits may be puns or other intentional uses of the collocation.  But
> there's more going on here than just the occasional typo.
>
> Herb
>
> On Sun, Nov 30, 2008 at 1:55 PM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com
> > wrote:
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at IX.NETCOM.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: "coach potato" another possible eggcorn?
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Looking at some of the Googits cited below, other than when actually
>> talking about a "coach," this looks like a typo rather than an
>> eggcorn. BB
>>
>> First, there are some genuine hits for people on coaches:
>>
>> -----
>> YOU'LL JUST LOVE BEING A COACH POTATO (http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_/ai_n14464095
>> )
>>
>> A company called "Coach Potato" (http://www.coachpotato.com/)
>>
>> Reformed 'coach potato' sets sights on skeleton glor
>> -----
>>
>> There are also items that are clearly typos:
>>
>> -----
>> 'Coach potato' blights name of humble spud...British potato farmers
>> were taking to the streets on Monday to call for the expression
>> "couch
>> potato" to be struck from the dictionary on the grounds that it harms
>> the vegetable's image. (http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?newslett=1&em=15570a1a20050621ah&click_id=29&art_id=qw111926412111A141&set_id=1
>> )
>>
>> What will the coach potato evolve into?...Indeed, what's increasingly
>> evident in television's rush into the digital age is that the
>> archetypal couch potato may be an endangered species. (http://news.cnet.co.uk/televisions/0,39029698,39194703,00.htm
>> )
>> -----
>>
>> There's even what looks like a blend of couch, Loach and coach:
>>
>> -----
>> Reformed 'coach potato' sets sights on skeleton glory...
>>
>> "Yeah,'' says an amused Keith Loach, "thanks, but no thanks....I'd
>> get
>> home from work'' - managing a car-rental outlet - "drop down on the
>> couch and watch TV....
>>
>> "When Keith gets back in fighting shape, I think it's going to be a
>> significant year for him,'' predicts national team coach and Turin
>> gold-medallist Duff Gibson.
>>
>> (http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=3b234e4d-0810-4ee1-9700-494de673f869
>> )
>> -----
>>
>> Urban Dictionary has two entries, one of which seems to be just a
>> typo:
>>
>> -----
>> 1. An extremely lazy coach; posts when practice/game is an hour
>> before
>> practice/game, so half of the team shows up;
>> * 2. someone who spends most of their time watching TV and doesn't
>> exercise or have any interesting hobbies. Such a person spends most
>> his/her free time sitting or lying on a coach. (http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=coach+potato
>> )
>>
>> The definition from HS below is for "couch potato" that comes up when
>> Googling for "coach potato," though I don't know why that should
>> happen.
>>
>>
>> On Nov 29, 2008, at 6:59 PM, Herb Stahlke wrote:
>>
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>> -----------------------
>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       Herb Stahlke <hfwstahlke at GMAIL.COM>
>>> Subject:      "coach potato" another possible eggcorn?
>>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> In the latest Newsweek, Sharon Begley writes in her "On Science"
>>> column:
>>>
>>> You measure the blood pressure, heart rate, weight, and other
>>> aspects
>>> of cardiovascular health of thousands of coach potatoes year after
>>> year.
>>>
>>> Googling "coach potato" gets about 39.7k hits.  When you refine the
>>> search to eliminate the cartoon series, the bus tour company,
>>> communications technologies, and other false matches, the number
>>> drops
>>> to about 14.6k, many of which clearly mean "couch potato."  "Coach
>>> potato' has an Urban Dictionary definition, "coach potato is used to
>>> describe someone who sits on the coach all day and does nothing
>>> (common knowledge)."  WikiAnswers has a question on the source of
>>> "coach potato" but no comments have been submitted.
>>
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