One that we conservatives have already lost on is "sound byte" (for "bite"). I see the former far more often than the latter.
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "RoryGoff" <rorygoff@> wrote: > > > > * * * Thanks, Judy. Yes, I have seen this mutation more > > frequently as of late, but wouldn't personally call it > > "nearly mainstream" yet. > > Dunno what their criteria are. It probably says somewhere > on the site. > > > I sometimes tend to be a bit conservative, though, when it > > comes to language. > > Me too, since I make my living as an editor! The more lax > things get, the closer I am to being out of a job. ;-) > Actually I find myself becoming more permissive as I near > retirement, when I'll no longer have to be responsible > for resisting change... > > > (And I don't see why one can't toe a party line; even in > > that context "toe" still makes at least as much sense as > > "tow" to me: actually more so, given the war/parade > > antecedents of toeing the line, and with politics being a > > perennial favorite display of bellicose ceremony...) > > On the other hand (foot?), "tow the party line" does > convey the sense of a burden, something one has to lug > around. But the referent of that metaphor is a little > off; you can't really "tow a line." You can only tow > something on the end of a line. > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "authfriend" <jstein@> wrote: > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "RoryGoff" <rorygoff@> wrote: > > > > > > > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "curtisdeltablues" > > > > <curtisdeltablues@> wrote: > > > > > > > > > <snip> Jerry was treated that way, with suspicion that he > > > > wouldn't tow the latest party line when he was at MIU. > > > > > > > > * * Editor's note -- "toe the line" is the accepted form of this idiom, > > > > though your variant conjures up interesting images! :-) > > > > > > An increasingly common variant, actually. Interesting > > > discussion here (including examples from journalism, and > > > a justification of the variant, especially when used > > > with "party line"): > > > > > > http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/english/72/tow/ > > > > > > "Tow the line" is classified by this site as "nearly > > > mainstream." > > > > > > Curtis, or anyone who digs language, should find this > > > blog fascinating. Explanation of the term "eggcorn": > > > > > > http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/about/ > > > > > > A similar eggcorn that I see frequently is "tough road > > > to hoe": > > > > > > http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/english/73/road/ >
