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Word of the Day:
MALAPROP (n. pl. -S)
Definition(s):
- (n.) a humorous, and usually unintentional, distortion or misuse of a word
Useful info for word game players:
- Front hooks: (none)
- Back hooks: -S
- Anagrams: (none)
- Longer extensions: malapropOS, malapropIAN, malapropISM/S, malapropIST/S
- Wraparounds: (none)
- Other Spellings: (none)
- Related Forms: MALAPROPIAN (adj.), MALAPROPISM (n.), MALAPROPIST (n.)
Epilogue:
Often we focus on using words correctly, with clarity and precision. Once in while, however, it is enjoyable to look at the humorous side of language (ab)use. Today’s word takes us down the path of amusing linguistic gaffes.
A character named Mrs. Malaprop, in Richard Sheridan’s comedy The Rivals (1775), often misspoke in a certain humorous fashion: she tried to sprinkle her speech with learned words, but she frequently misused them in ludicrous ways. She said things such as “he is the very pineapple of politeness” (she means “pinnacle of politeness”) or “she’s as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile” (for “alligator on the”). This is the word you need when someone speaks of “the forty-eight contagious states of the U.S.” or “a vast suppository of information.” The name of Sheridan’s memorable character was clearly formed on the pattern of the French phrase mal a propos, meaning “inappropriately.” The English word MALAPROPOS, which means pertaining to something inappropriate, is from the same source.
Another type of humorous misspeaking is the SPOONERISM, which is the transposition, usually unintentional, of initial sounds in two or more words, such as “wottle of bater” (for “bottle of water”). This word is named after a Reverend Dr. Spooner (1844-1930), who is alleged to have said things such as “you have hissed all my mystery lectures” (for “you have missed all my history lectures”) or “may I sew you to another sheet?” (for “may I show you to another seat?”). A broader and more technical name for transposing letters or sounds in words is METATHESIS, from the Greek metatithenai, “to place differently.” Metathesis includes spoonerisms, as well as common pronunciation mixups such as “flutterby,” “psaghetti,” and “nucular.”
Recapping this week’s featured words:
ZEUGMA, PANGRAM, ORTHOEPY, and MALAPROP
Also mentioned:
ANAGRAM, CACOGRAPHY, MALAPROPOS, METATHESIS, MONOGRAM, ORTHOGRAPHY, and SYLLEPSIS
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