10 Egg-Cellent Examples of Eggcorns

We’ve all done it – misheard a common phrase and made it our own. The phenomenon even has its own name: an eggcorn. “But that’s not even a real word!” we hear you cry. Well, that’s exactly the point! 

Although we can’t give you any chocolate eggs for Easter, we can give you a whole heap of eggcorns. In this post, we’ll explain what an eggcorn is, where the term originated from, and give you ten cracking examples of eggcorns. 

What Is an Eggcorn?

An eggcorn is a word or phrase that has been misheard but is commonly used in place of the original expression. The new word or phrase has a completely different meaning than the original, yet it is still used because it sounds similar and is seemingly plausible when used in the same context. 

Eggcorns usually occur when a reader or listener is unfamiliar with a stock term and tries to make sense of it (for example, replacing Alzheimer’s disease with old-timers’ disease). 

Where Did the Name Come From?

It turns out that the word “eggcorn” is actually an eggcorn itself!

In 2003, linguist Mark Liberman posted an article in which he talked about a woman who’d used the word “eggcorn” instead of “acorn.” Geoffrey Pullum, a fellow linguist, then decided to coin the term “eggcorn” as a catchall for this specific type of mistake. The word is now even in the Oxford English Dictionary and the Merriam-Webster Dictionary.

10 Examples of Eggcorns

1. “Escape goat” (instead of “scapegoat”)

2. “Cold slaw” (instead of “coleslaw”)

3. “A mute point” (instead of “a moot point”)

4. “Doggy-dog world” (instead of “dog-eat-dog world”)

5. “Lack toast and tolerant” (instead of “lactose intolerant”)

6. “On tender hooks” (instead of “on tenterhooks”)

7. “To all intensive purposes” (instead of “to all intents and purposes”)

8. “Damp squid” (instead of “damp squib”)

9. “Biting my time” (instead of “biding my time”)

10. “To be pacific” (instead of “to be specific”)

Other Types of Misheard Phrases

Eggcorns aren’t the only examples of misused words or phrases. There are also mondegreens, spoonerisms, and malapropisms. 

• A mondegreen involves misconstruing the lyrics of a song. For example:

Mondegreen: ‘Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soap

Original: ‘Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul

(Justin Timberlake, Mirrors)

• A spoonerism is when one accidentally switches the first letter on each word of a phrase. For example:

Spoonerism: “Nins and peedles”

Original: “Pins and needles”

• A malapropism is when a word sounds similar to the correct word but is misused. For example:

Malapropism: Shoplifters will be prostituted.

Original: Shoplifters will be prosecuted.

Becoming a Proofreader

If you would like to learn more about the common errors that proofreaders need to look out for, look no further than our Becoming A Proofreader course! We’ll teach you how to spot and fix common errors, how to proofread according to style guides, and give you insights into working with different types of clients. You can even try it for free!