"coach potato" another possible eggcorn?

[Herb Stahlke]

I agree that it's not as strong a case for an eggcorn as I thought at
first.  Maybe a budding eggcorn?  an oakcorn flower?  But there's more
here than a typo would account for.  The fact that there is a cartoon,
a TV comedy, and a piece of communications software with the name
suggests more to the couch/coach variation than pure chance.

Herb

On Sun, Nov 30, 2008 at 11:02 PM, Benjamin Barrett <gogaku at ix.netcom.com> wrote:
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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?
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> 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:
>
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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
>>> -----------------------
>>> 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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>>
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