The Eggcorn Database - v. 0.5
said » set
Chiefly in: when/after all is set and done
Classification: English – /t/-flapping – idiom-related
Spotted in the wild:
- As much as a foot of snow is possible after all is set and done. (The Denver Channel, Apr. 14, 2009)
- When all was set and done, the missed shot didn’t mean anything but the impact from the opposing crowd was felt throughout every inch of Crisler Arena. (The Michigan Daily, Feb. 11, 2010)
- There is no deal in place but when all is set and done, something expected to happen after the Academy Awards, Sorkin’s project is on track to get a pilot order by HBO. (Deadline Hollywood, Jan. 23, 2011)
- After all is set and done, iOS 5 seems to work just fine, according to Mills. (TechLeash, Oct. 26, 2011)
- By the time all is set and done over 2 feet is possible for the hardest hit areas. (News 4 Tucson, Dec. 13, 2011)
- After all was set and done in Newark, NJ on Thursday night at the 2012 NBA Draft, most of the headlines left happy with their new hat, new boss and most of all, a soon-to-be-epic bank account. (SB Nation Atlanta, June 30, 2012)
Analyzed or reported by:
- Ken Lakritz (Eggcorn Forum, Nov. 27, 2005)
lease » leash
Chiefly in: new leash on life
Classification: English – idiom-related
Spotted in the wild:
- But it could give the neocons a new leash on life, a way to invigorate their exhausted ideological engines. (Andrew Sullivan, The Daily Dish, July 9, 2007)
- 38-year-old, mother-of-three Lauren Bays revels in her new body and new leash on life after undergoing “mommy makeover” plastic surgery. (ABC News, July 8, 2011)
- Baldur’s Gate is getting a new leash on life from Overhaul Games with an enhanced edition coming this summer to the iPad and OS X. (Technology Tell, Apr. 6, 2012)
- Commercial radio seemed dead, but college radio gave it a new leash on life. (Radio Survivor, Apr. 23, 2012)
- Now Pacquiao has a new leash on life and a new found spiritual guidance that has changed his life for the better. (The Sports Mistress, June 9, 2012)
- This gesture reduced stress, allowed me to open my heart to greater spontaneity and a new leash on life. (Dream Builders Australia, June 22, 2012)
Analyzed or reported by:
- Paul Brians (Common Errors in English Usage)
- billyphuz (Eggcorn Forum, Apr. 2, 2008)
- joshuakeck (Eggcorn Forum, Feb. 6, 2011)
This often appears as an intentional dog-related pun, as in the song “I Hope That Something Better Comes Along” from The Muppet Movie (used by Rowlf the Dog).
single » signal
Chiefly in: signal out
Classification: English
Spotted in the wild:
- Sure, there are some annoying past-bonus contract issues involved, and some of the individuals signaled out for retention may not be the right ones to get them. (Roy C. Smith, Forbes.com, Mar. 17, 2009)
- While the president may hope for a short bankruptcy, it may not be that simple, especially with those creditors that Obama signaled out for not cooperating. (Jake Tapper et al., ABC News, Apr. 30, 2009)
- We, the boys, were cruel to each other, a prerequisite for getting through the school day — either it was you who would get the leather strap or the petrified boy sitting next to you, and his being signaled out for the bout of perversity gave you a reprieve, if only a temporary one. (Padraig O'Malley, Boston Globe, May 27, 2009)
- But in a parting political shot, he signaled out Republican leadership who he said have promised nothing but more “heated rhetoric.” (Michael A. Memoli, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 30, 2010)
- First it was the far right, which signaled out “Spongebob” for promoting a gay and global-warming agendas. (Daniel Frankel, Reuters/The Wrap, Sep. 11, 2011)
- District Attorney Mike Ramsey refiled the child abuse counts only against Bram, who asserted she was being signaled out for breast-feeding toddler Thor and newborn Zeus while using pot. (Peter Hecht, Sacramento Bee, June 12, 2012)
- He told the commission that 70% of campaign money is not reported at the provincial level – without signaling out any political party. (Michael Qaqish, iPolitics.ca, June 26, 2012)
Analyzed or reported by:
- Mark Liberman (Language Log, Aug. 10, 2004)
- Pat Schwieterman (Eggcorn Forum, June 28, 2009)
- Wilson Gray (ADS-L, June 27, 2012)
Pat Schwieterman notes that H. W. Fowler long ago warned of confusion between single and signal. From the 1944 American edition of Modern English Usage:
Unfortunately, there is just nearness enough in meaning between the verb single on the one hand &, on the other, the adjective signal & the verb signalize to make it easy for the uncharitable to suspect writer rather than printer; & therefore especial care is called for, as with deprecate & depreciate.
cole slaw » cold slaw
Classification: English – final d/t-deletion
Spotted in the wild:
- The popular salad made of shredded cabbage was originally “cole slaw,” from the Dutch for “cabbage salad.” Because it is served cold, Americans have long supposed the correct spelling to be “cold slaw”; but if you want to sound more sophisticated go with the original. (Brians, Common Errors)
Analyzed or reported by:
- Paul Brians (link)
- Arnold Zwicky (link)
Very common eggcorn, discussed several times on the Eggcorn Forum.
Thanks to final d/t-deletion, cold slaw and cole slaw are very frequently homophonous.
hollandaise » holland day
Chiefly in: holland day sauce
Classification: English – questionable
Spotted in the wild:
- Q: What is holland day sauce? A: A rich creamy sauce made of butter, egg yolks, and lemon juice or vinegar is holland day sauce. (link)
Analyzed or reported by:
- Arnold Zwicky (link)
- Peter Forster (link)
See also hollandaise >> holiday(s). This is marked as questionable because there’s no obvious semantic motivation for the reinterpretation, only a formal motivation.