“Eggcorns” are linguistic errors resulting from misinterpretation of a word, while “mondegreens” are misheard song lyrics and “malapropisms” are the misuse of similar-sounding words. Eggcorns are usually attached to an individual and can become part of their vernacular, such as “duck tape” for “duct tape.”
The term “egg seed” originated from a misinterpretation of “acorn”. It covers linguistic errors that have no other clear term. Eventually, Eggcorns was adopted as the official term for misunderstood words that a person may unintentionally twist while trying to figure out what they are. It is generally limited to one individual and can become something of a trademark with that person.
Egg grains aren’t considered mondegreens, which are phenomena that apply to something heard like song lyrics or performances. One of the best known is a misinterpreted line from American guitarist Jimi Hendrix’s 1967 song “Purple Haze.” Many people have mistakenly heard “Excuse me while kissing the sky” as “Excuse me while kissing this boy”. An internet search will find hundreds of humorous examples of mondegreens from various songs, poems, and plays. The term mondegreen was coined in a 1954 essay by author Sylvia Wright, who as a child had misheard a name in a Scottish ballad such as “Lady Mondegreen.”
Nor are egg grains malapropisms, which occur when the speaker or writer misuses a similar-sounding word in an exaggerated way. The term comes from the French mal á propos, which means “inappropriate”. Examples of malapropisms would be “The father was a kind of civilized snake” or “A rolling stone gathers no moths.” In the United States, they are sometimes referred to as “Bushisms” after former President George W. Bush, who was quite famous for them. A British expression, Colemanballs, makes fun of BBC announcer David Coleman, who also had a habit of inserting malapropisms into his speech.
Egg grains differ from both mondegreens and malapropisms. They are considered a phonetic mispronunciation of a particular word in an attempt to make an intelligent guess as to what that word actually is. The mind simply makes a linguistic substitution. Egg grains usually originate from and are attached to a person rather than a group of speakers. Sometimes they find their way into the vernacular, especially with the advent of the internet where funny mistakes can spread widely.
Popular egg kernels include “duck tape,” mispronounced from “duct tape,” a fibrous adhesive product used on heating and air conditioning ducts. This particular mistake is now actually a trademark. Another is the “sickness of old people,” referring to Alzheimer’s disease. Since the condition often affects the elderly, it’s easy to see the thought process in the creation of this egg.
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