Eggcorns

The Eggcorn Database is a really fun resource – I’d particularly recommend it to students trying to improve their writing or writing instructors, but I suspect that everyone is guilty of one of the confusions on the list. In a nutshell, an eggcorn is a word which is frequently used in place of the correct word, usually in the context of a set phrase, for example: “veil of tears” instead of “vale of tears” or “do to the fact” instead of “due to the fact”. I agree with Bitch Ph.D. (where I found the link) that these confusions could probably be avoided by reading more, and reading more widely. That said, given the number of reputable sources that are starting to include these errors, it’s nice to have a place that is collecting some of the more common ones. As an instructor, I see errors like this all the time, and I think students would gain a lot from browsing the collection and self-checking if thtey’re familiar with the correct phrasings of these common lingistic constructions.