Here is my latests find from the Chronicle of Higher Education: “Like A Bowl In A China Shop” by Mark Peters.
Notice the title? If you said cliche, then you’re warm. If you notice a word isn’t quite right, then you’re on to something. The bowl, instead of bull, is what Mark Peters describes in his article as an eggcorn. While he can’t be credited with coining the term, he describes what eggcorns are. Prior to reading this article, I thought malapropism was the appropriate word, but eggcorn is much catchier. The mute point vs. moot point is one of his best examples of how a student’s ear will interpret a term they’ve heard, but have never seen (or bothered to look up) the spelling. I suppose duck tape fts in this category. How many times in creative writing classes have I seen classmates mention “duck” tape instead of duct tape?
Since I’ve taught English for a year and a half, I’m sure I’ve seen some examples of eggcorns, but I can’t remember them. Maybe I just don’t want to remember right now.
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It’s nice to know that graduate programs have become crasser than ever. At least, I have experienced a great deal of unprofessionalism from certain individuals in my MFA program (with names to protect the guilty in the “If You Want To Go To Graduate School” series). One latest example of appropriate behavior from universities is the trend towards rejection by e-mail. Here is “The Etitquette of E-Rejection” by Mitch Frye for your reading pleasure.
