[HN Gopher] Sometimes solecisms can reveal linguistic ingenuity
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       Sometimes solecisms can reveal linguistic ingenuity
        
       Author : helsinkiandrew
       Score  : 23 points
       Date   : 2021-07-21 06:36 UTC (1 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.economist.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.economist.com)
        
       | morpheos137 wrote:
       | More often they reveal poor intellect or hyperactive
       | autocomplete.
        
         | nefitty wrote:
         | There are different types of intelligence. I'm good at cooking
         | but bad at math. Some people excel at physical endeavors but
         | might have difficulties with language. "Poor intellect" means
         | nothing at best. "Poor language skills" more effectively
         | conveys what you seem to have intended to convey, although you
         | did it without any source or backing argument.
        
           | bitwize wrote:
           | Yeah, statistics says no. Cognitive aptitude in one area
           | correlates very strongly with aptitude in other areas,
           | leading the people who measure this stuff to conclude that
           | there is pretty much one factor for general intelligence. The
           | rest is training. You're bad at math because you're ill-
           | practiced at it and/or you never found a way to overcome your
           | math anxiety.
        
             | majormajor wrote:
             | Let's say that's correct - the person you're replying to is
             | still more correct than the one they were replying to: a
             | misused word could not distinguish poor intellect from
             | unfamiliarity.
        
             | oh_sigh wrote:
             | Well what if a person has a high intellect but is ill-
             | practiced in English?
        
       | skmurphy wrote:
       | I learned it as "hone in" from hone meaning to sharpen or narrow
       | (honing a blade). It seems to me that "home in" only makes sense
       | if you are trying to return. If you seeking a new target hone in
       | strikes me as more accurate. Apparently Webster disagrees.
        
         | _0ffh wrote:
         | >"home in" only makes sense if you are trying to return
         | 
         | Under that interpretation, homing missiles sound like a really
         | bad idea.
        
       | euroclear wrote:
       | https://outline.com/5qBRep
        
       | aynsof wrote:
       | An 'eggcorn' that always makes my eye twitch is 'bunker down'.
       | 
       | To hunker down is to take a squat or crouch down on your heels.
       | If I recall correctly, it comes from a similar root as
       | 'haunches'.
       | 
       | 'Bunker down' makes sense as an eggcorn, but I find it much less
       | romantic somehow.
        
       | sebmellen wrote:
       | I don't think I've heard a single person in my life say "home in
       | on", it's _always_ been "hone in on".
        
         | DaveExeter wrote:
         | I've never heard "hone in on"! If someone said it, I would
         | assume they just mispronounced 'home'.
         | 
         | "hone in on" makes no sense!
        
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       (page generated 2021-07-22 23:01 UTC)