Could it be?
Have I found an eggcorn?
Unchartered waters, appearing 6590 times in Google (note that some of these are articles about charter schools, so this may also be a pun or a typo), to uncharted waters appearing 65,000 times. (The ratio is about the same if you put them in quotes.)
I can’t think of a good explanation for this one. Like a chartered flight? Waters you go through by accident? Uncharted seems so sensible that I don’t get the other. But it’s not much less sensible than wedding vowels, I guess.
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September 15th, 2004 @ 9:20 pm
My “favorite” is the idea that an idea could be “deep seeded” as opposed to “deep seated.” (That and things like “tow the line” and “strike a cord” — but I think those are more matters of misspelling than mishearing.)
“Unchartered waters” is strange.
Rana
September 16th, 2004 @ 12:35 am
Ex once had a student complain about these language oopsies, referring to a boyfriend who kept saying to take something with a grain of salt. She thought the phrase was “a grain assault.” Of course, the boyfriend probably felt like pommeling her with the salt …
September 16th, 2004 @ 4:43 pm
My godfather once had a tshirt of a salt shaker next to a 9V battery.
June 30th, 2005 @ 4:03 am
[…] apropisms and other fun things) Paul Brians (Common Errors in English) wolfangel writes: Unchartered waters, appearing 6590 times in Google (note tha […]