For several years now, I have been collecting eggcorns.  Eggcorns are words and phrases that make sense, but are not technically correct. The name comes (supposedly) from a child who asks how to spell “eggcorn,” which is how she had interpreted the word “acorn.”  Acorns look egg-shaped, and starting in the “E” section of the dictionary it would be hard to find the entry that would dispel the misconception.

So I would like to share some of my collection. I caught all of these in the wild.

• “to rage war” (from “to wage war”)
• “I would like to relay a story” (from “I would like to relate a story”)
• “To breach a subject” (from “to broach a subject”)
• “to interfear with the government’s terror campaign” (from “to interfere…”)
• “Exception to the rulers” (from “exception to the rules”)
• “I beg to dither” (from “I beg to differ”)

Comment and add your favorites!

-Peter