"feint praise"--eggcorn?

[Wilson Gray]

On Sat, Jul 14, 2012 at 7:45 AM, Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:
> "Rowan … [and I] have only one thing in common: we wrote poetry."

FWIW, IME, there is only a single spelling that has ever been used in
this cliche:

"damn with _faint_ praise"

That there are people who not only think, but also even argue,
otherwise just goes to show you: youneverknow.

Also FWIW, in my ideogrammar, "_feint_ praise" is not possible. "Fake
left" and "fake praise"? Okay. "Feint left" and "feint praise"? Nokay.
So, I'm totally down with arnold's analysis of it as a typo.

"what semantics would _feint_ contribute to the expression?"

Or even *could*, IMO!

I'm really surprised that there exist other native-speakers who not
only accept _feint_ in this environment, but who also have "reasoned"
etymological arguments for doing so. But, that this is the case I find
interesting.

BTW, arnold, was this there, in your day? In one of the Bld. 20
offices, there was posted a Sunday-funnies strip of Peanuts whose
first panel shows Lucy asking Charlie some such question as, "Charlie
Brown, why is your face such a "*face*" face?" In the second panel,
Charlie commences to rap - in the '60's sense - in reply:

"||| || |||| ||| | ||||| ||| |||||| …"

through most of the remaining panels. In the second-last panel, Lucy
suddenly punches Charlie out. In the last panel, she breaks the fourth
wall and says,

"I had to hit him quick! He was starting to make sense!"

That's kinda the way that the arguments for _feigned_  - but not for
_feint_ - strike me. If I hadn't already decided not to accept any, I
might be persuaded.

--
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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