Issue No. 22, April 2008

Dear Reader,

This month’s issue looks at eggcorns. If you’ve ever wondered whether duck tape should really be called duct tape (or is it the other way around?), this topic’s for you.

Happy spring!

Elizabeth Cockle
Copywriter and Buzzword Banisher

In this issue...

• Eggcorns
• Buzz Off : 24/7
• Parting Words

Eggcorns

An eggcorn is the mistaken substitution of a common word or phrase by a similar sounding word or phrase. Eggcorns usually make a quirky kind of sense in the original context, making them more than just a humorous slip. The name was coined by the linguists at the blog Language Log after they noticed someone using the word eggcorn for acorn (an acorn is similar to both an egg and a corn kernel in different ways).

1. Bated breath / baited breath. Unless you’re the protagonist of the children’s book How to Eat Fried Worms, the expression is bated breath, not baited breath. Bated is a contraction of abated, which means lessened. But don’t hold your breath waiting for everyone to get this right.
2. Tongue in cheek / tongue and cheek. This phrase refers to sticking one’s tongue in one’s cheek to hold back laughter and keep a straight face. This tactic is often used after telling some outrageous lie to a gullible listener. Tongue and cheek could even serve just as well, since one could also imagine sucking in one’s cheeks to avoid laughing.
3. On tenterhooks / on tenderhooks. Wet wool used to be pulled taut across frames called tents to be dried. Those who did this were called tenters, and the hooks they used to hold the cloth were thus called tenter hooks. So, if you’re waiting and stressed out, you’re on tenterhooks. Compared to that, being on tenderhooks sounds almost pleasant – presumably they’re softer.
4. All told / all tolled. Thanks to the quotation “for whom the bell tolls,” all tolled seems to have an air of final judgment for fans of John Donne, Ernest Hemingway and Metallica alike. However, the expression actually comes from an old sense of tell, meaning counted. Thus, all told means all counted.
5. Toe the line / tow the line. To toe the line means to fall in line, like soldiers on inspection parade. If you’re toeing the line, you’re conforming. However, some writers mistakenly conjure up images of pulling a rope by using tow the line, which is a real drag.
6. Make amends / make our mends. To amend means to correct. When you make amends, you’re making up for something did or didn’t do – essentially mending fences. So make our mends does have a certain ring of authenticity.
7. Champing at the bit / chomping at the bit. The verb champ means to bite or chew noisily. Thus, a horse champing at the bit is so eager to get galloping that it’s chewing at the bit in its mouth. Champ is now mostly confined to this expression. Chomp, a regional variant, has evolved into a more common colloquial term for biting or chewing. So it looks like chomp is now the champ, which really bites.
8. I coudn’t care less / I could care less. If you couldn’t care less, you literally mean just that: you care so little that it would be impossible to lower your level of interest further. Some speakers use I could care less to mean the same thing. But if you could care less, it means you do care, at least a little bit. The intended meaning is identical, yet the literal meaning is the opposite. In fact, it’s as bad as when people use the word literally to mean figuratively.

Buzz Off : 24/7

Hard as EC Buzz works to rid the language of annoying buzzwords, it never pretends to be working ’round the clock. Frankly, it’s hard to believe claims such as “available 24/7” are strictly true in every case. People do have to sleep sometime.

Outsourcing to faraway places may have created a 24/7 culture of availability. But doesn’t it still feel inconsiderate to call anyone on business in the middle of the night?

Which buzzword is your pet peeve? your suggestion to EC Writing, then look for your buzzword and name in an upcoming issue.

Parting Words

“It doesn’t take rocket appliances to realize [this].”

– Ricky from Trailer Park Boys