Cafe chalkboard advertising a "pre fixed" menu, an eggcorn of the Frenchprix fixe (fixed price)
Aneggcorn is the alteration of a word or phrase through the mishearing or reinterpretation of one or more of its elements,[1] creating a new phrase that is plausible when used in the same context.[2] Thus, an eggcorn is an unexpectedly fitting or creativemalapropism. Eggcorns often arise as people attempt to make sense of a stock phrase that uses a term unfamiliar to them,[3] as for example replacing "Alzheimer's disease" with "old-timers' disease",[2] orWilliam Shakespeare's "to the manner born" with "to themanor born".[1] Theautological word "eggcorn" is itself an eggcorn, derived fromacorn.
Eggcorns arise when people attempt to useanalogy and logic to make sense of an expression – often a stock one – that includes a term that is not meaningful to them.[3] For example, the stock expression "in one fell swoop" might be replaced by "in one foul swoop", the infrequently used adjective "fell" (for "fierce", "cruel", or "terrible"[4]) being replaced with the more common word "foul" in order to convey the cruel/underhand meaning of the phrase as the speaker understands it.[3]
Eggcorns are of interest to linguists as they not only show language changing in real time, but can also shed light on how and why the change occurs.[3]
The termegg corn (later contracted into one word,eggcorn) was coined by professor of linguisticsGeoffrey Pullum in September 2003 in response to an article byMark Liberman on the websiteLanguage Log, a group blog for linguists.[5] In his article, Liberman discussed the case of a woman who had used the phraseegg corn foracorn, and he noted that this specific type of substitution lacked a name. Pullum suggested usingegg corn itself as a label.[6]
Eggcorns are similar to but distinct from several other linguistic expressions:[23]
Where afolk etymology is a change in the form of a word caused by widespread misunderstanding of the word'setymology, an eggcorn may be limited to one person rather than being used generally within aspeech community.[6][3]
Amalapropism generally derives its effect from a comic misunderstanding of the user, often creating a nonsensical phrase; an eggcorn on the other hand is a substitution that exhibits creativity or logic.[18]
Amondegreen is a misinterpretation of a word or phrase, often within the lyrics of a specific song or other type of performance, and need not make sense within that context.[24] An eggcorn must still retain something of the original meaning,[24] as the speaker understands it, and may be a replacement for a poorly understood phrase rather than a mishearing.
In apun, the speaker or writer intentionally creates a humorous effect, whereas an eggcorn may be used or created by someone who is unaware that the expression isnon-standard.[25]
Where the spoken form of an eggcorn sounds the same as the original, it becomes a type ofhomophone.
Liberman, Mark, and Geoffrey K. Pullum (2006),Far from the Madding Gerund and Other Dispatches from Language Log. Wilsonville, OR: William, James & Co.
Definitions from Wiktionary
Data from Wikidata