Malapropism
Meaning
A malapropism is the mistaken use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound, resulting in a humorous, nonsensical utterance.
Origin
The word 'malapropism' takes its name from Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 1775 play, 'The Rivals.' Mrs. Malaprop was famed for her delightful habit of misusing long words, replacing them with words that sounded similar but had entirely different, often absurd, meanings. For instance, she famously warned against 'allegories' on the banks of the Nile (instead of 'alligators') and wished to 'illiterate him from my memory' (instead of 'obliterate'). Her comic blunders were so popular and iconic that her surname became the official term for such linguistic slips, immortalizing her in the English lexicon.
Examples
- The student's essay contained a humorous malapropism when he wrote about a 'revolving door of destiny' instead of a 'revolving door of policy'.
- During his toast, Uncle Barry inadvertently created a malapropism by saying he hoped the couple would have 'many happy progeny' instead of 'many happy prospects'.