eggcorn of the day #4
Observed:
“… but even tropical force winds can wreck havoc.”
Here, “wreck havoc” is an eggcorn of “wreak havoc.” As the entry in the Eggcorn Database suggests, this non-homophonic substitution likely began with persons reading the phrase, not hearing it spoken.
In context of the original phrase, the verb “to wreak” signifies “To cause or effect (harm, damage, etc.)” (OED 8b.)
“Havoc,” the noun being brought into effect, means:
2. Devastation, destruction; esp. in phr. to make havoc, play havoc (freq. const. with), in which the earlier sense of spoliation or plunder has gradually passed into that of destructive devastation. Also in weakened sense: confusion and disorder, disarray. The phrases to work havoc, create havoc are also common. (OED)
Thus, the eggcorn: “to wreck havoc” is a tautology.
