Three pairs of pronunciation

[Joel S. Berson]

At 6/28/2010 02:28 PM, Arnold Zwicky wrote:
>on the other hand, the item of men's formal apparel (part of the
>"white tie (and tails)" kit, with cutaway jacket and tails) is
>correctly labeled "morning coat", so if there are instances of
>"mourning coat" etc. out there, *these* are eggcorns, worth noting
>in their own right.  morning coats are most commonly worn at
>weddings these days (but also at formal balls, diplomatic
>receptions, etc.), and not at funerals, so the reinterpretation of
>"morning" as "mourning" would be a bit of surprise.  but funerals
>are serious, even formal, occasions, so maybe some people think of
>grieving when they hear about morning coats; after all, what, these
>people ask, do the coats have to do with the morning?

So mourning dress, but morning coat.  Funerals vs. weddings.

Joel

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