Grammar that makes you cringe

[Cudzoziemiec]

The comments on the eggcorn article are making me laugh out loud. I'm spitting my slides.

The teacher asked the class to come up with a sentence including the word contagious.
Johnny shoots his hand up "Our neighbour's painting his fence with a 1 inch brush and my dad says it's going to take the contagious"

[Ian H]

I had a letter about eggcorns published in the Guardian several years ago. Hmph.

My favourite, printed, embarrassingly enough, in our club newsletter, is 'pre-madonna'.

[Deano]

Synchronicity!

One of Boss Caine's (York's answer to Springsteen) lyrics leapt out at me the other day, and now I know what to call it.

The lyric was "poking his head above the pulpit".

[T42]

I think it was only after the TV series came out that I realised the phrase was not 'splitting image'. Frankly, neither 'splitting', spitting nor 'spit and image' carry any intrinsic meaning that I can discern, and I think it's that lack of 'logic' in the phrases that might be one reason for eggcorns.

Though eggcorn itself is a funny one.

"Spit and image" is biblical in origin and refers to God's creation of Adam from mud & spittle.  I'd agree, though, that intrinsic meaning or logic in that is pretty hard to discern. Mr. Cabell made it much more amusing.

[Wowbagger]

I have a wonderful vision of Sarah Palin and her elk, charging triumphant from Alaska to free the world from somethingorother.

[Mr Larrington]

Synchronicity!

One of Boss Caine's (York's answer to Springsteen) lyrics leapt out at me the other day, and now I know what to call it.

The lyric was "poking his head above the pulpit".

I called out Davina McCall for the same crime last month.

[red marley]

Oh I do like these eggcorns; especially Ian's pre-Madonna. I hope the originator had Ms Ciccone in mind rather than Mary.

Not an eggcorn as such, but a friend of mine is fond of using the phrase 'white elephant in the room'. I love the metaphor of  something obvious that is so useless it is left uncommented upon.

[citoyen]

I have to admit that in my dim and distant youth, I thought the phrase was pre-madonna - as in the UB40 song with the line "I'm a pre-madonna". Which made a kind of sense because, of course, UB40 did predate Madonna by some years.

[Cudzoziemiec]

There should be an adjective pre-Madonnaite (pre-Madonnan?) referring to a return to the supposed golden period in popular music before Madonna, along the lines of pre-Raphaelite.

[hellymedic]

There should be an adjective pre-Madonnaite (pre-Madonnan?) referring to a return to the supposed golden period in popular music before Madonna, along the lines of pre-Raphaelite.

That's Sweet!

[Nuncio]

There should be an adjective pre-Madonnaite (pre-Madonnan?) referring to a return to the supposed golden period in popular music before Madonna, along the lines of pre-Raphaelite.

My first dynamo lamp was made before the introduction of overpriced yet very stylish cycling attire. 

[clarion]

There should be an adjective pre-Madonnaite (pre-Madonnan?) referring to a return to the supposed golden period in popular music before Madonna, along the lines of pre-Raphaelite.

That's Sweet!

Not just Sweet,  mind.  There's the whole of the rest of Glam rock, too.

[Cudzoziemiec]

That's Sweet, that's Sweet, that's Sweet, that's Sweet,
Really like your tiger feet.

But that wasn't Sweet, that was Mud - which is more what you'd expect on tiger feet, anyway.

[nicknack]

Talking of eggcorns and suchlike. Part of headline from local rag:

potato from out of space

[Mr Larrington]

Talking of eggcorns and suchlike. Part of headline from local rag:

potato from out of space

How many letters?

[Jaded]

Is it 'Eric Pickles'?

[L CC]

I'm spending my workdays constantly cringing at the moment.

People of Suffolk:
Which and What are not interchangeable. Ever.
Shew is not the past tense of show. (I ought to let this one pass, as it's dialect, but I'm still cringing).
Due does not mean what you seem to think it means.

I need to go for a lie down...

[hellymedic]

Shew is an archaic form of show isn't it?

Past is shewn/shown, I thought.

[Bledlow]

Yes. Used by George Bernard Shaw, in an attempt to re-popularise it at a time when it was already archaic.

[L CC]

Archaic=Still alive and kicking in Suffolk.
Yup, sounds about right.

[Bledlow]

Do you mean spelling or pronunciation? Because the old 'shew' didn't represent a different pronunciation, at least not in the last couple of hundred years.

Shew was pronounced like blow or grow, not blew or grew. Shew/shewn sounded like sew/sewn.

[T42]

Shew is an archaic form of show isn't it?

Past is shewn/shown, I thought.

Best eschewed.

[citoyen]

Shew is not the past tense of show. (I ought to let this one pass, as it's dialect, but I'm still cringing).

I feel much the same about snuck and dove used as past tenses for sneak and dive, though I feel I'm swimming against the tide there.

[L CC]

Do you mean spelling or pronunciation? Because the old 'shew' didn't represent a different pronunciation, at least not in the last couple of hundred years.

Shew was pronounced like blow or grow, not blew or grew. Shew/shewn sounded like sew/sewn.

Pronounced like shoe.

(With a stalk of grass in the corner of your mouth.)

[hbunnet]

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