Funny Miss Speak Known as Malapropisms

From Denny: The following is a fun excerpt from Cheeky Quote Day over at The Social Poets. For the full post, go here.

*** Those funny slips of the tongue that come out weird and ridiculous!

From Denny: OK, we have all done it at one time or another. The key to good communication and understanding with others is to, well, avoid those slips of the tongue – or brain – whichever the case may be and speak something that comes out as absolutely weird and ridiculous nonsense.

What’s a malapropism? It’s one of those Freudian nuisances that have long plagued humanity – and politicians. We will get to that in a moment. A malapropism is really the unintentional use of a wrong word or strings of words into a phrase (compounding the problem) that causes confusion with the listeners as to what you truly meant to utter.

OK, so it’s unintentional and a humorous misuse or distortion of the word or phrase. A malapropism is especially effective because though it sounds a lot like the intended word so that it ends up ludicrously wrong in the context! What’s worse is if you make a habit of talking like this.



Some typographer having fun: I Shot the Serif ---- sheriff

A quick bit of history trivia for you on the origin of the word malapropism… OK, all you show-offs quit waving your hands because you already know the answer. Malapropism came into our language a few centuries ago from the pen of writer Richard Sheridan. His character, Mrs. Malaprop, was known for these speech antics in his 1775 play named The Rivals.

Here are some of her fun malapropisms and the correct word follows. If want to study how to write malapropisms this is a great example of how to write them:

"...promise to forget this fellow - to illiterate him, I say, quite from your memory." -------------- obliterate

"O, he will dissolve my mystery!" ------- resolve

"He is the very pine-apple of politeness!" ------- pinnacle

"I have since laid Sir Anthony's preposition before her;" ------- proposition

"Oh! it gives me the hydrostatics to such a degree." -------- hysterics

"I hope you will represent her to the captain as an object not altogether illegible." ------- eligible

"...she might reprehend the true meaning of what she is saying." ------- comprehend

"...she's as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of Nile." ------- alligator

"I am sorry to say, Sir Anthony, that my affluence over my niece is very small." ------- influence

"Why, murder's the matter! slaughter's the matter! killing's the matter! - but he can tell you the perpendiculars." ------- particulars

"Nay, no delusions to the past - Lydia is convinced;" ------- allusions

"...behold, this very day, I have interceded another letter from the fellow;" ------- intercepted

"I thought she had persisted from corresponding with him;" ------- desisted

"His physiognomy so grammatical!" ------- phraseology

"I am sure I have done everything in my power since I exploded the affair;" ------- exposed

"I am sorry to say, she seems resolved to decline every particle that I enjoin her." ------- article

"...if ever you betray what you are entrusted with... you forfeit my malevolence for ever..." ------- benevolence

"Your being Sir Anthony's son, captain, would itself be a sufficient accommodation;" ------- recommendation

"Sure, if I reprehend any thing in this world it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs!" -------- reprehend/apprehend, oracular/vernacular, derangement/arrangement, epitaphs/epithets



*** For the full post of funny malapropisms - that my British friends call Colemanballs after a sports announcer prone to slips of the tongue - and the examples of former President Bush in all his Miss Speak glory, video of short clips included, visit Cheeky Quote Day at The Social Poets, go here.





*** Fun and intriguing informative science articles written in my usual cheeky voice:

Check Out Cosmic Generator Producing Energy at Rate of 100K Suns

Slamming Low-Ride Satellite Maps Earths Magnetic Field

*** Thanks for visiting! And if you are a blogger make sure to copy these fun free Christmas clip arts to use on your blog!