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Eggcorn vs Vaguery - What's the difference?

eggcorn | vaguery |

As nouns the difference between eggcorn and vaguery

is that eggcorn is (linguistics) an idiosyncratic but semantically motivated substitution of a word or phrase for a word or words that sound identical, or nearly so, at least in the dialect the speaker uses while vaguery is (uncountable) vagueness, the condition of being vague.

Noun

{{examples-right, examples=*deep-seeded'' instead of ''deep-seated *deformation of character'' instead of ''defamation of character *for all intensive purposes'' instead of ''for all intents and purposes *free reign'' instead of ''free rein *oldtimer's disease'' instead of ''Alzheimer's disease *on tender hooks'' instead of ''on tenterhooks }} (en noun)
  • (linguistics) An idiosyncratic but semantically motivated substitution of a word or phrase for a word or words that sound identical, or nearly so, at least in the dialect the speaker uses.
  • *2005 , Ben Zimmer, "Eggcorn Database", at alt.usage.english , 2005
  • *:The Language Loggers have argued that it's useful to distinguish eggcorns' from classic malapropisms (e.g., "allegory" for "alligator", "oracular" for "vernacular", "fortuitous" for "fortunate"), in which a word is replaced by one with a vague similarity of sound. An ' eggcorn relies on a substitution that is phonologically very similar (even homophonous), and the result is one that is semantically justifiable (even if the justification is far-fetched).
  • *2005 , Chris Waigl, "The Eggcornin' Bob Dylan", at alt.usage.english, November 5, 2005
  • *:What is also required of eggcorns is phonetic closeness -- they should do better than "electrocution" for "elocution" or "allegory" for "alligator". This is something they have in common with mondegreens, but the similarity ends there. Mondegreens are errors of perception, not of production, and they are related to specific auditory material:
  • *2006 , "Lend me your ear.(WORD WATCH; amusing speech errors known as eggcorns)", in Psychology Today , Mar 1, 2006
  • *:Far from being simple goofs, an eggcorn' provides a glimpse into everyday thought processes. ' Eggcorns do not signify ignorance but rather the opposite,
  • *2006 , K Webb, "Lost? Misquoted? We want better communication!", in Incite , Volume 27 Issue 10 (Oct 2006)
  • *:... An eggcorn is a term that is misunderstood and mangled, like ‘give up the goat’ or ‘hone in on’.
  • *2006 , "Feedback", New Scientist , 18 November 2006
  • *:OUR report of a relative who, as a child, thought the classic version of the Lord's Prayer began "Our father, a chart in heaven, Harold be thy name" stated that this type of mistake is known as an eggcorn'. A number of readers have suggested that instances like this in which a whole phrase rather than just a word is misheard, should be called mondegreens rather than ' eggcorns .
  • *2007 , Michael Erard, Um...: Slips, Stumbles, and Verbal Blunders, and What They Mean , page 211
  • *:But most eggcorns remain individual idiosyncrasies ...
  • *:But something like "pus jewel" (for "pustule") — which is an eggcorn
  • *2007', Martin Toseland, ''The Ants Are My Friends: Misheard Lyrics, Malapropisms, '''Eggcorns and Other Linguistic Gaffes
  • *2007', "WORDPLAY: Mighty mistakes from little '''eggcorns grow...", in ''Pharmacy News Jul 19, 2007
  • *:Characteristic of the eggcorn is that the new phrase makes sense on some level ('old-timer's disease' for 'Alzheimer's disease').
  • See also

    * folk etymology * malapropism * mondegreen

    References

    * Eggcorn database * Michael Quinion on the eggcorn on Centrifical Discussion of an eggcorn and the definition * Metaforix@ A discussion of the phenomenon and some examples. English autological terms

    vaguery

    English

    Noun

  • (uncountable) Vagueness, the condition of being vague.
  • * 1859 , New Exegesis of Shakespeare , page 245-6:
  • this badge of rivalry and intrusion, and of the vaguery and vacillation which restrain them through dread of danger.
  • * 1977' (first publication; republication in '''2003 ), Tom Nairn, ''The Break-Up of Britain: crisis and neo-nationalism - Page 68:
  • As a matter of fact, the particular breadth and vaguery of residual all-British consciousness decays more readily into racialism than into a defined, territorially restricted nationalism.
  • * 1985 , Stephen Chan, The Commonwealth Observer Group in Zimbabwe: a personal memoir , page 11:
  • The wording of diplomatic agreements and protocols is often deliberately designed either to soothe ruffled feathers — while pursuing an otherwise ruthless course — or to give assurance in sufficiently vague form that the vaguery might afterwards be exploited to diminish the effect of the assurances.
  • * 1988 , Kenneth Pickering, How to Study Modern Drama :
  • There is a sharp and effective contrast between the incisiveness and energy of his speech and the vaguery and haziness he is attacking.
  • * 2003 , Annette Fierro, The Glass State: the technology of the spectacle, Paris, 1981-1998 , page 103:
  • Incumbent on the quest for vaguery are frustration and unrequited desire; complete accessibility is inherently denied as part of its most basic definition.
  • (countable) A vagueness, a thing which is vague, an example of vagueness.
  • * 1980 , Nicholas P. Cushner, Lords of the Land: sugar, wine, and Jesuit estates of coastal Peru, 1600-1767 , page 14:
  • Some were indeed powerful men belonging to powerful families, exercising authority and influence, but the vagueries of colonial economic conditions made their holdings precarious.
  • * 1983 , Marvin Davis, Rank and Rivalry: the politics of inequality in rural West Bengal , page 191:
  • Yet whatever their faith in the importance of a politicized citizenry, the framers of the Indian Constitution left little to the vagueries of mass political participation.

    See also

    * vagary