eggcorn in the wild: pedistool

[Laurence Horn]

Mark Schlereth, weighing in on the Washington (still-)Redskins quarterback situation on the Mike & Mike show on ESPN radio this morning, addressing the question of whether Robert Griffin III, aka RG3, should be "shut down" for the rest of the season, noted that the team had "put him on a pedestool".  Definitely [pEd at stul].  It's on the eggcorn database with various spelling options at http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/english/297/pedastool/ and I see from googling that "pedistool" is apparently the most widely attested, although it looks as though it should mean 'footstool' (maybe putting someone up not quite as high as on a real pedestal...).

LH

P.S.  If you're wondering as I was, "stool" (< OE sto:l) and "-stal" as in pedestal are apparently not cognates, although the latter shares the root of yesterday's friend "install"

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