I say acorn, you say eggcorn

In Jeremy Butterfield's latest book, Damp Squid: The English Language Laid Bare, the author examines how the English language is changing.  The title of the book includes what linguists call an "eggcorn". The original expression is "damp squib", used to describe something that is disappointing, like a firework that won't go off because it is too wet.  Many people no longer recognize the word "squib" (a small firework); they're more familiar with "squid" (a sea creature), and so an expression can gradually change.

The term "eggcorn" was coined by Geoffrey Pullum in September 2003. In a discussion about a woman who said "eggcorn" instead of "acorn", it was realized that this sort of language use had no name, so Pullum suggested using "eggcorn" itself.

I don't remember much from school, but I've never been able to forget two statements my art teacher made. One week, he told us we would be taking a look at "Renoir's volumptious nudes". It sounded almost right. But wasn't it "voluptuous"? "Volumptious" was actually more visual. And the next week, we learned that "Vincent van Gogh was a maniac depressive". Brilliant. Except he should have said "manic depressive".

Neither of these eggcorns have made it into the dictionary, but one that has, into the Dictionary of Contemporary Slang by Tony Thorne, is "nipply", which comes from "nippy" — the perfect word for describing the nasty weather we've been having recently!