Eggcorn: *flea market* > *flee market*
Arnold M. Zwicky
zwicky at CSLI.STANFORD.EDU
Thu Mar 6 14:18:35 UTC 2008
On Mar 5, 2008, at 10:25 PM, Dennis Preston wrote:
> Isn't "flea market" an eggcorn to start with?
?? OED under "flea" says:
flea market colloq. [cf. Fr. marché aux puces, in Paris], term applied
jocularly to a street market.
1922 G. S. DOUGHERTY In Europe 130 It is called the ‘*Flea’ Market
because there are so many second hand articles sold of all kinds that
they are believed to gather fleas.
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