You’ve probably seen it on Reddit, Twitter, or Facebook.
Someone writes “bone apple tea” instead of “bon appétit” or exclaims “wallah!” instead of “voila!”
That’s an eggcorn. It’s when a word or phrase is mistakenly changed to something that sounds similar. This new version might still make sense because it seems logically related to the original. It’s a mix-up that blends sound and logic in a unique way.
In this article, I’ll go over what is an eggcorn and explore this amusing phenomenon through examples. We’ll also see how they differ from malapropisms and spoonerisms, showing how errors can lead to invention.
Eggcorn Etymology
Eggcorns are when we mix up words that sound alike but have different meanings.
They happen because our brains like patterns. We mix up words that sound alike if the mistake still makes sense to us. For example, “baited breath” instead of “bated breath.”
The term reportedly comes from a mix-up of “acorn.” According to Merriam-Webster, in a 2003 post on the Language Log blog, editor Mark Liberman talked about a woman who mistakenly wrote “egg corns” instead of “acorns.”
Liberman mentioned that this mistake didn’t quite fit the usual categories of word mix-ups like folk etymologies, malapropisms, or mondegreens. Later, he added that linguist Geoffrey Pullum proposed calling these types of errors “egg corns.”
The name stuck, and two decades later, “eggcorn” is now a dictionary-accepted definition.
Common Eggcorn List
To help you avoid eggcorns, here’s a roundup of some common ones:
| Incorrect (Eggcorn) | Correct Term | Explanation |
| Escape Goat | Scapegoat | Mistakenly implies a goat that escapes blame rather than an individual or entity bearing the blame. |
| Bone apple tea | Bon appétit | “Bone apple tea” is a meme phrase with a dedicated Reddit page. It happens when someone writes the French expression “bon appétit” phonetically as “bone apple teeth” or “bone apple tea.” |
| Wallah | Voilà | A misunderstanding that occurs with the French phrase “voilà,” often misspelled by English speakers as “walla” or “wallah.” |
| Ex-patriot | Expatriate | Misunderstood as a former patriot instead of someone living outside their native country. |
| For all intensive purposes | For all intents and purposes | Changes the phrase slightly, suggesting thoroughness or intensity rather than the intended meaning. |
| Nip it in the butt | Nip it in the bud | Mishearing that changes the idea of stopping something early to a comical action. |
| Duck tape | Duct Tape | Arises from the mispronunciation and the misconception about the product’s use or material. |
| Bold-faced lie | Bald-faced lie | Misunderstanding that implies audacity in lying rather than the starkness or barefaced quality of the lie. |
| On tender hooks | On tenterhooks | A misinterpretation that evokes a sense of being gently hooked rather than the tension suggested by tenterhooks. |
| Deep-seeded | Deep-seated | Suggests something planted deeply like a seed rather than being firmly established or rooted. |
| Free reign | Free rein | Misunderstood as a royal authority given freely rather than the freedom to make decisions, like giving a horse free rein. |
| Doggy-dog world | Dog-eat-dog world | Misinterpretation that softens the meaning of a ruthlessly competitive environment. |
| Taken for granite | Taken for granted | Mistakenly suggests being perceived as a rock rather than being unappreciated or underestimated. |
| Peaked my interest | Piqued my interest | Mishearing that suggests something reached a peak of interest rather than stimulating curiosity. |
| Shoe-in | Shoo-in | This is another common one. It incorrectly suggests inserting a shoe rather than being certain to win or succeed. |
| Wet your appetite | Whet your appetite | Misinterpretation that suggests moistening rather than sharpening or stimulating appetite. |
Eggcorn vs. Malapropism vs. Spoonerism
Eggcorns often get lumped together with malapropisms and spoonerisms, but each of these linguistic phenomena has its own distinct characteristics.
Let’s explore that:
- Eggcorns are, as we’ve seen, substitutions of words or phrases that sound similar to the intended word but are incorrect, yet plausible within the context. An eggcorn often retains a sense of logical coherence despite the error and reflects a creative misinterpretation of sounds.
- Malapropisms involve the incorrect use of a word by substituting it with a similar-sounding word that creates a nonsensical or funny effect. Unlike eggcorns, malapropisms don’t necessarily retain logical coherence. They’re named after Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1775 play The Rivals, who famously misused words (“He is the very pineapple of politeness!”).
- Spoonerisms are a slip of the tongue where the initial sounds or letters of two words are swapped. This can happen accidentally in speech and often leads to humorous results. Spoonerisms are less about misunderstanding and more about a mix-up in the delivery (e.g., “A well-boiled icicle” instead of “A well-oiled bicycle”). They are named after Reverend William Archibald Spooner, who was prone to this kind of error,
Knowing the differences between these mistakes shows us how creative and funny language can be.
Eggcorns show us making sense out of mistakes, malapropisms make us laugh at mix-ups, and spoonerisms add fun to how we talk. All these mix-ups make our language more colorful and enjoyable.
Final Thoughts
Eggcorns reveal the fun in language mistakes. They’re not just errors but evidence that language evolves. They demonstrate our attempts to understand words, sometimes resulting in inventive changes.
Eggcorns, malapropisms, and spoonerisms prove that messing up words isn’t always a bad thing; it can make our language richer and more interesting. Next time you hear or use an eggcorn, take a moment to enjoy the creativity behind it. These linguistic slips show how flexible and inventive we can be with words.
In short, eggcorns and their linguistic cousins highlight the creative and dynamic nature of language. They encourage us to see the fun in language learning and remind us to appreciate the unexpected turns language can take!
Want to learn more grammar tips? Check out my guide on home in vs. hone in!