OK, so I'm reading a sports writer who states that there were "flaws in the ointment", and I think, "silly, silly man".
Then I google his phrase to see how often it is in use on the web. Only 92 hits, but the very first one is an article actually titled "Flaws in the Ointment" from the UPI.
Of course I then search for "Flies in the Ointment" and with 25,600 hits, I assume I have a clear winner.
I can understand the error in ordinary dialect, but I wonder to what degree pronounciation of "flies" as "flaws" is the culprit in this switcheroo...
~Thadeus
Then I google his phrase to see how often it is in use on the web. Only 92 hits, but the very first one is an article actually titled "Flaws in the Ointment" from the UPI.
Of course I then search for "Flies in the Ointment" and with 25,600 hits, I assume I have a clear winner.
I can understand the error in ordinary dialect, but I wonder to what degree pronounciation of "flies" as "flaws" is the culprit in this switcheroo...
~Thadeus