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But now, onto this week’s Word Nerd post. (I’ll be giving you the answer to last week’s What Do You Think It Means at the end of this post.)
Today’s word is malapropism, sparked by a few examples I came across in my reading this week. The Oxford English Dictionary defines malapropism as:
The mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with an amusing effect (e.g. ‘dance a flamingo’ instead of flamenco).
Here in Australia we had a show called Kath & Kim, which featured two of Australia’s well-known comediennes as a mother and daughter in the ‘burbs. It was fantastic satire, although not everyone’s cup of tea, and their use of malapropisms was a running gag in the series:
effluent/affluent
Kim: I want to be effluent, Mum. Effluent!
Kath: You are effluent, Kim!
nasturtiums/aspersions
Kath: Stop casting nasturtiums!
The word malapropism was coined in honour of a character who was known for her habit of confusing similar sounding words: Mrs. Malaprop, from Sheridan’s 1775 play The Rivals. Her name, in turn, comes from the French word malapropos, meaning “inappropriate”—which is, ironically, very appropriate!
Here are some of Mrs. Malaprop’s gems:
illiterate/obliterate
“…promise to forget this fellow—to illiterate him, I say, quite from your memory.”
exploded/exposed
“I am sure I have done everything in my power since I exploded the affair.”
Incidentally, Mrs. Malaprop is not the first character to have demonstrated this humorous problem, nor is she the first character to have a word named after her as a result. If you know your Shakespeare, in particular the play Much Ado About Nothing, it will not surprise you to learn that the word Dogberryism, although far less well known, is a synonym for malapropism. In Much Ado About Nothing, the…er, learned constable Dogberry is responsible for such delightful lines as:
“Our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons.” (apprehended two suspicious persons)
And my personal favourite:
“O villain! Thou wilt be condemned into everlasting redemption for this!” (damnation)
And the malapropism that inspired today’s post?
Character two: Like whelps?
Unfortunately, I don’t think that last one was deliberate on the part of the author, but it did give me some giggles!
So, go forth and spot some malaproprisms this week, if you can! And if you enjoyed this post, you might like to check out this post on malapropisms at Thought Co.
And for those of you wondering whether you guessed the correct meaning for pigwidgeon from last week, I think this might be the first time ever that no one has guessed the correct definition, which was (b) anything petty or small. That’s me: 1, everyone else: about 50. 🤣
Have a great week!
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