Lesson plan
Eggcorn
(fixed price) An eggcorn is the alteration of a word or phrase through the mishearing or reinterpretation of one or more of its elements, creating a new phrase that is plausible when used in the same context. The term (originally 2 words egg corn) was coined in September 2003 by Geoffrey Pullum in response to an article by Mark Liberman on the website Language Log. The article discussed the case of a woman who had used the phrase egg corn for acorn, and noted that this type of substitution lacked a name. Pullum suggested using egg corn as a label.
Article summary
(fixed price) An eggcorn is the alteration of a word or phrase through the mishearing or reinterpretation of one or more of its elements, creating a new phrase that is plausible when used in the same context. The term (originally 2 words egg corn) was coined in September 2003 by Geoffrey Pullum in response to an article by Mark Liberman on the website Language Log. The article discussed the case of a woman who had used the phrase egg corn for acorn, and noted that this type of substitution lacked a name. Pullum suggested using egg corn as a label.
Key claims
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.