New eggcorn?

[Bill Palmer]

McClatchy Newspapers reports today that "Pakistanis regard the U.S., *formally* a close ally,...as a hostile power." 

I do not find this in the DB, which seems remarkable, as it seems like a very common error. Did I not look far enough?

Given the state of the profession today, I am not surprised to see this transgression committed by the "journalisterati".  Thanks and credit to Wilson G for the idea for this coinage.

Bill Palmer

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org