This article was in the Curiosity.com newsletter today, about eggcorns—which are words or phrases that are misheard or wrongly remembered and regurgitated in a slightly different form—which then enters usage. This could be one way in which language evolves.

I’ve heard number 5) Bad wrap (bad rap) said as “bad rep”…as in bad reputation.

One phrase not on the list, that I don’t know which came first, is Dull as ditchwater or Dull as dishwater. I grew up saying the former, but the washing-up option is more common nowadays.

Mishearing song lyrics or poetry leads to what are known as Mondegreens.

For a while, I thought that Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits was singing “Money for nothing and your cheques for free,” in their song Money For Nothing, rather than the actual lyric “your chicks for free.” Some listeners thought he was muttering “your chips for free.”

A close relative is a Malapropism, which can be humorous.

Can you think of any other examples?