Malapropism Totally Explained

Everything about Malapropism totally explained

A malapropism is the substitution of one word for another, incorrect, word with a similar sound, usually to comic effect.

Etymology

The word malapropos is an adjective or adverb meaning "inappropriate" or "inappropriately", derived from the French phrase mal à propos (literally "ill-suited"). It is believed to have entered English usage around 1660.
The term malapropism is generally attributed to the public reaction to Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 1775 play The Rivals, and in particular the character Mrs. Malaprop. Sheridan presumably named his character Mrs. Malaprop, who frequently misspoke (to great comic effect), in joking reference to the word malapropos. The term malapropism was coined to designate this specific kind of mistake that Mrs. Malaprop frequently made.

Distinguishing features

An instance of mis-speech is called a malapropism when:

The word that's used means something different from the word the speaker or writer intended to use.
The word that's used sounds similar to the word that was apparently meant or intended. Using obtuse (wide or dull) instead of acute (narrow or sharp) isn't a malapropism; using obtuse (stupid or slow-witted) when one means abstruse (esoteric or difficult to understand) would be.
The word that's used has a recognized meaning in the speaker's or writer's language.

These characteristics set malapropisms apart from other speaking or writing mistakes, such as an eggcorns or spoonerisms.
Simply making up a word, or adding a redundant or ungrammatical prefix (irregardless instead of regardless) or suffix (subliminible instead of subliminal) to an existing word, doesn't qualify as a malapropism.

Examples

The Rivals

"She's as headstrong as a allegory on the banks of the Nile." (for example, alligator)

"He is the very pineapple of politeness." (for example, pinnacle)

"If I reprehend any thing in this world, it's the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs!" (for example, apprehend, vernacular, arrangement, epithets)

Radio, film, and television

Selections from a rich malapropism culture of The Sopranos: "Revenge is like serving cold cuts." "…my knight in white satin armor." "…prostate with grief." "Quasimodo predicted this" "Create a little dysentery among the ranks."

"It were my secret to successive. Thanks to Jimmy Jenkins my ovulary size is much much not smaller than ever before" - (for example "success", vocabulary, and other mistakes). This comes from "The Joe Jefferson Vocabulary Builder Upper" - by Bob and Tom, a humorous recording consisting mostly of malapropisms. Parodies an infomercial for an (evidently unsuccessful) system to improve one's vocabulary.

"I've got these two albacores around my neck" (for example albatross) "It's like the Rime of the Ancient Marinade..." (for example Mariner). - Aqua Teen Hunger Force

"I've gotta consecrate myself on this newspaper." (for example concentrate). — All in the Family (Note the nonstandard use of the reflexive, illustrating a Yiddish-German influence on the dialect of New York City.) Also, "Patience is a virgin."

"I want to be effluent mum!" "You are effluent Kimi..." (for example affluent) — Kath and Kim

"What are you incinerating?..." (for example insinuating) — Galton and Simpson, Steptoe and Son ("Doodlebug over Shepherd's Bush")

"I can say that without fear of contraception" (for example contradiction) — Hylda Baker was originally a British music hall star who used malapropisms extensively in her stage act. Best known for the TV situation comedy Nearest and Dearest where she continued the tradition.

"Brudder, you got a preposition and that thing will give you a conclusion of the brain" are some of the countless malapropisms uttered by cartoon legend Bugs Bunny in some of his two-reelers.

"You could have knocked me over with a fender." (for example feather) — Jane Ace, one of many malapropisms she used on the old-time radio comedy series, Easy Aces.

"We heard the ocean is infatuated with sharks" (for example infested) - Stan Laurel in The Live Ghost.

"What a terrible cat's after me!" (for example catastrophe) - Stan Laurel in Any Old Port!

"She said honesty was the best politics" (for example policy) - Stan Laurel in Sons of the Desert

"V.D. Day!" (for example V-E Day) — Edith Bunker (as played by Jean Stapleton), on television's All in the Family. That show's Archie Bunker character once referred to the AFL-CIO as "The UFO-CIA"

"Where are my mannerisms?" (for example "manners:) - Tigger in Disney's "Winnie the Pooh"

"Lorraine, my density has brought me to you."; "Yes! I'm George! I'm your density!" (destiny)—George McFly, Back to the Future

"I'll hunt you and shoot you down like a duck." (dog) — Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen, Back to the Future III

"I can't even phantom how that must feel!" (for example fathom) — Young girl in a television ad for T-Mobile wherein her father sat strapped into a chair while she used up her "anytime minutes."

"I resemble that remark!" (for example resent) - Stooge Curly Howard, after being insulted by fellow Stooge Moe

"Let's talk about a very tattoo subject..." (for example "taboo") - Various episodes of "Da Ali G Show".

"I was given an "old tomato", leave or get thrown out..." (for example ultimatum)- Will and Grace

"I'm here tonight to speak out against busting schoolchildren." (i.e "bussing schoolchildren") - Emily Litella from Saturday Night Live

"Just sing it with no music; you know, Acapulco." (for example a cappella)- Suzanne Sugarbaker from Designing Women

"Eastern and Specific Time." (i.e "Pacific") - Jillian (Brian Griffin's girlfriend) from Family Guy

"Why aren't I allowed to say the phrase, 'for all intensive purposes?'" (for example for all intents and purposes) Doug Heffernan from The King of Queens

"So guys, bring your wives on down to Furniture Factory Outbreak (for example "Furniture Factory Outlet"), for prices so low, they're ecological (for example, economical)." -- uttered by the late Harlan Jordan, who, in ads for the Muldrow, Oklahoma-based Furniture Factory Outlet, almost always committed a malapropism with the word Furniture, Factory, or Outlet, such as "Furniture Flattery Outlet", "Furrier Factory Outlet", "Furniture Factory Inlet", etc.

"If there's any justice in the world, Maris Crane and Niles Crane will soon be executed." (for example exonerated) - Dr Frasier Crane from Frasier

"The ironing is delicious." (for example irony) - Bart Simpson, after finding Lisa in detention.

"You're very observant: the sacred and the propane" (for example "profane") — Carmine Lupertazzi Jr.

"Isn't there like a statue of limitations on that?" (for example Statute of Limitations); Cosmo Kramer

"Yeah, I super-size with you." (for example sympathize); Frito from Idiocracy

"Welcome to my humble chapeau!" (for example chateau); Belle Carroca from My Favorite Year

"It's proper posh up at that new doctor's - they got tubercular steel furniture in the waitin' room" (for example tubular); Pete 'n' Eva on Radio Bristol

"You're just a pigment of my affiliation" - Jon Douglas Dixon of Standing Hampton

"I can't believe you don't see the oblivious!" (for example obvious) - Chicken in Cow and Chicken

"So, truth has to lie prostate, which means we've to reveal it in its nakedness, even if that nakedness seems to be connected to a lack of power." Princeton Professor Cornell West confusing "prostate" with "prostrate" on September 7, 2007, Episode #517 of “Real Time with Bill Maher.”

Popular culture

"I might just fade into Bolivian, you know what I mean?" (for example oblivion) — Mike Tyson

"I really dig Hannibal. Hannibal had real guts. He rode elephants into Cartilage." (for example Carthage) — Mike Tyson

"I am not going to make a skeptical out of my boxing career." (for example spectacle) — Tonya Harding

"I can shoot with my left hand, I can shoot with my right hand, I'm amphibious." (for example ambidextrous) — Charles Shackleford

"Mark Lee's arms went up like two giant testicles..." (for example, tentacles) - Jack Dyer commenting on a VFL match (Mark Lee was a former Richmond ruckman)

"If it's any consolidation ..." (for example consolation) — Ken James

"My nipple."(for example dimple) — Malaysian singer Siti Nurhaliza when asked what her best facial feature was.

"However, they delineate—quotas, I think, vulcanize society." (for example balkanize) - George W. Bush

"On the Day of Atonement, I can't afford to be sick. (for example "a tournament") -- Sam Snead, golfer. He said this in a commercial he made for Bromo-Seltzer. According to the Book of Sports Lists by Pepe and Hollandrer, the Jewish part of his audience understood he wasn't referring to Yom Kippur but couldn't pronounce "tournament".

"Oh, you mean the ones with those disraeli gears?" (for example derailleur gears) - Cream roadie Mick Turner, during a conversation between Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker about racing bicycles.

"I made a carnal sin (for example, cardinal), I forgot my words". — singer Brandon Rogers after being voted off American Idol on March 14 2007.

"But beyond crude oil, natural gas and electricity, the Nymex is also a major platform for trading futures and options contracts in all sorts of precocious metals." (for example precious metals)

Shakespeare

Malapropisms appear in many works written well before Sheridan created their namesake character; William Shakespeare used them in several of his comedies.
Constable Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing:

"...you shall comprehend all vagrom men..." (for example apprehend, vagrant; Act 3, Scene III)

"Comparisons are odorous." (for example, odious; Act 3, Scene V)

"Our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons." (for example, apprehended, suspicious; Act 3, Scene V) Launcelot in The Merchant of Venice:

"Certainly [Shylock] is the very devil incarnal..." (for example, incarnate; Act 2, Scene II)

"That is the very defect of the matter, sir." (for example, effect; Act 2, Scene II) Elbow in Measure for Measure

"two notorious benefactors" (for example, malefactors; Act 2, Scene I)

"if she's been a woman cardinally given"; (for example, carnally, Act 2, Scene I) Nick Bottom in A Midsummer Night's Dream also frequently uses malapropisms, such as:
Bottom says he'll "aggravate" his voice when he really means he'll "moderate" it. Bottom says " Thisbe, the flowers of odious savours sweet!" He said odious which really means repulsive instead of a pleasant odour.

Fictional characters

"Why killing's the matter! Why murder's the matter! But he can give you the perpendiculars." (for example, particulars, from a scene in Horrible Histories)

The infants from the show Rugrats constantly used malapropisms, for example As Bob is my witless.

Sally Brown from Peanuts often used malapropisms.

A character in Thomas Mann's The Magic Mountain requests that Beethoven's Erotica (Eroica) be played at a funeral.

In Calvin and Hobbes, Calvin: "I'm so smart it's almost scary. I guess I'm a child progeny (prodigy)." Hobbes: "Most children are."

In the British situation comedy Nearest and Dearest, the main character Nellie Pledge often uses malapropisms such as "Then he laid prostate on the ground." (for example, prostrate), "...sat sitting there like a big business typhoon!" (for example, tycoon), and "I think I can quite safely say without fear of contraception..." (for example, contradiction).

The character of Ricky (Trailer Park Boys) uses malapropisms on a regular basis: he calls Sasquatches "Saskatchewans," and says his daughter is just going through "phrases." (for example, phases)

Archie Bunker's limited grasp of the English language resulted in a large number of now classic unintentional malapropisms during All In the Family's run (for example "vagrant disregard for the law", "the Pope is inflammable," "patience is a virgin"). (for example, flagrant, infallible, virtue)

In Only Fools and Horses, Del Boy played by David Jason often uses malapropisms for comic effects, such as "good to be back on the old terracotta" (for example, "terra firma").

In The Sopranos, the characters frequently use malapropisms. Tony Soprano, the protagonist played by James Gandolfini, has committed various malapropisms, such as referring to amour fou, French for "crazy love," as "our mofo."

Tom Stoppard's play On the Razzle features many zany malapropisms that run symbiotic to much of the mistaken identity that occurs throughout the story.

Rachel Price, in The Poisonwood Bible, uses several malapropisms during her narrations. They include "granite" in place of granted, and "addenda" for agenda.

The comic strip Frank and Ernest has a recurring character named "malaprop man" who narrates the strip using malapropisms. In fact, much of this strip features malapropisms.

"Though I'm replicant to spread rumors, I'm led to believe the philogy of skeletous beings makes them resistive to magic." -- Lord Rugdumph gro-Shurak, a character in

Sol Butcher of Sons Of Butcher often uses many malapropisms.(eg:"Beauty is only deep skin, it's what beside her that counts." "When death comes, I'll welcome it with open legs.")

The character Minako Aino/Sailor Venus from Sailor Moon often accidentally uses malapropisms when using figures of speech, in both the original Japanese version and in the English dub. (eg: She said "No use crying over spilled milk" as "Don't worry about Fish eggs from before" in the original. It was changed into "No use crying over ruined silk" in the English dub)

In Richard Russo's novel Straight Man, landlord Charles Purty's habitually (and hilariously) utters malapropisms throughout.

Karen Walker of NBC's Will & Grace: "Come on. When was the last time you and I took off to Bermuda on the sperm (spur) of the moment? Let's go!"

Buffy Summers often mangled the names of demons on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In the episode "Faith, Hope & Trick," she manages to refer to vampire Kakistos as "kissing toast" and "taquitos." Near the end of the Angelus arc in season two, she referred to Acathla as "Alfalfa" and "Al Franken."

Real life

It was reported in New Scientist that an office worker described a colleague as "a vast suppository of information". (for example, "repository")

New Scientist also reported the first-ever malapropism for "malapropism", when, having become aware of his error, the office worker apologised, saying he'd committed a "Miss Marple-ism."

Time reported Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern as warning his country against "upsetting the apple tart" (ie., "apple cart") of his country's economic success.

Alanis Morissette unintentionally misused the term 'malapropism' when she commented on her unintentional misuse of the term 'ironic' within her song "Ironic".

A contestant on ego trip's Miss Rap Supreme claimed that "alcohol, as they say, helps you let down your prohibitions." (for example, "inhibitions)

Philosophical significance

In the essay "A Nice Derangement of Epitaphs", philosopher Donald Davidson argues that malapropisms demonstrate that competence in a language isn't a matter of applying rigid rules to the decoding of utterances. Rather, says Davidson, it appears that in interpreting others, people constantly modify their own understanding of our language.

Further Information

Get more info on 'Malapropism'.

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