,

What exactly is an eggcorn? I saw one online and went through a whole bunch of them and some websites and they all seemed to be playing with my head. Not the best way to greet a fellow writer.

—Dahlia, in Cyberspace

Dear Dahlia,

An eggcorn is an error in language, usually a slip of the tongue or pen. It often happens when a word or part of a word is accidentally replaced by a real word. The new bit is close enough to the original to be forgotten, or to be deliberately kept because it’s interesting or just fun. The best eggcorns make sense in the context and are more fun than the “real” word—to say nothing of the new word(s) that are born and ready for their own linguistic hijinks. Here’s a great one from Metro Lifestyle: “I was really ill. I laid down on the living room floor and curled up in the feeble position.”

Now that you know, you can start watching for eggcorns, and collect your own. They’re habit-forming, in the good way!

—The Editors