"Kubla Khan and Ollie"

[Joel S. Berson]

At 11/22/2013 09:41 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
>On Nov 22, 2013, at 8:45 PM, Joel S. Berson wrote:
>
> > I remember them, although distantly; but why is this an eggcorn?
>
>Well, maybe rather a malapropism.  I thought it was an eggcorn
>because I was assuming that Francesa had a mental lexicon entry for
>"Kubla Khan" and not for "Kukla (the clown)" or "Fran (Allison)",
>but you're right in questioning my characterization, since Kubla
>Khan doesn't rationalize or motivate the expression, unless you
>assume he'd have make a good partner for a dragon (albeit a puppet dragon).

Ollie (Oliver J.), a one-toothed dragon who would "roll on his back
to be endearing", as a puppet of Kubla[i] Khan, who defeated on the
battlefield several internal enemies and attempted or accomplished
invasions of Japan, Vietnam, and Burma among other places?  No, a pussycat.

>But let's go with Mrs. Malaprop.

OK.
Joel


>LH
>
> >
> > Joel
> >
> > At 11/22/2013 04:05 PM, Laurence Horn wrote:
> >> Uttered by Mike Francesa, normally a sports talk host on WFAN but
> >> today reminiscing about television broadcasts on and about November
> >> 22, 1963.  (You young whippersnapper will want to google "Kukla,
> >> Fran, and Ollie" to see what this is an eggcorn for; it was a
> >> favorite show of mine some years before '63, and indeed it seems to
> >> have been off the air after 1957.)
> >>
> >> LH
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>
>------------------------------------------------------------
>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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