Forget ACORN, Let’s Talk Eggcorns

If you watched the third and final presidential debate, you saw both candidates discuss the appropriateness of using a litmus test to evaluate potential Supreme Court justices.  Apparently that subject interested the public: one of the top Google searches immediately following the debate was the eggcorn “lipness test.”  Ugh.

According to Google Trends, searches for the term weren’t just hot, they were volcanic.

In all fairness, more people searched for the correct term, “litmus test,” than for the eggcorn version of the term, but the volume of searches for “lipness test” was still surprisingly high.  “Litness test” and “litman’s test” also received a few searches each.

How exactly does one get through high school chemistry, American history, and civics classes without coming across the term “litmus test”?  I really hope these searches originated with inquisitive middle school kids.

Published by Jenn Q. Public on October 16, 2008 at 12:52 am

Filed Under Election 2008

Comments

2 Responses to “Forget ACORN, Let’s Talk Eggcorns”

  1. phil on October 16th, 2008 5:40 am

    More importantly, how do you write a post about lipness tests in this election without mentioning that Sarah Palin passes with eyeing colors?

  2. Jenn Q. Public on October 16th, 2008 5:59 am

    phil – the fact that Sarah Palin passes with flying collars, even in the face of ad homonym attacks, goes without saying.

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