A (from French ''mal à propos'', "ill to purpose") is an incorrect usage of a word by substituting a similar-sounding word with different meaning, usually with comic effect. The term comes From The Name of '''Mrs. Malaprop''', a character in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's Comedy , '' The Rivals '' ( 1775 ), whose name was in turn derived from the existing English word ''malapropos'', meaning "inappropriately".
- "He's as headstrong as an '' Allegory '' on the banks of the Mississippi ." (i.e., '' Alligator '')
- "He is the very '' Pineapple '' of politeness." (i.e., '' Pinnacle '')
- "He missed that Field Goal by a '' Microcosm ''." (i.e., '' Micrometre '')
- "I've gotta '' Consecrate '' myself on this newspaper." (i.e., '' Concentrate ''). ('' All In The Family '') (---Note the non-standard use of the Reflexive , indicating the Yiddish-German influence on New York City speech.)
- "If I ''reprehend'' any thing in this world, it is the use of my '' Oracular '' tongue, and a nice ''derangement'' of '' Epitaph s''!" (i.e., ''apprehend''; '' Vernacular ''; ''arrangement''; '' Epithet s'')
- "Then he laid '' Prostate '' on the ground." (i.e., ''prostrate'')
- "I ''resemble'' that remark!" (i.e., ''resent'')
- "He drank himself to '' Bolivia ''" (i.e., ''oblivion'')
- "You know I get ''ravishing'' when I play indoor cricket" (i.e. ''ravenous'')
- "For all ''intensive purposes''..." (i.e., ''intents and purposes'')
- "If it's any ''consolidation''..." (i.e., ''consolation'') (''Ken James'')
- "I want to be ''effluent'' mum, you are ''effluent'' Kimi..." (i.e., ''affluent'')(from Kath And Kim )
- "What are you ''incinerating''?..." (i.e., ''insinuating'')
- "Worst case ''Ontario''..." (i.e., ''scenario'')
- "Supply and ''Command''..." (i.e., ''demand'')
- "''Denial'' and Error..." (i.e., ''trial'')
- "" ( Steve Jobs during the introduction of ILife '06 )
It may be more appropriate to call such confusions "Dogberryisms" after Sergeant Dogberry in William Shakespeare 's '' Much Ado About Nothing '', who was making them almost two centuries earlier. Some examples include:
- "Comparisons are ''odorous''." (i.e., ''odious'')
- "Our watch, sir, have indeed ''comprehended'' two ''auspicious'' persons." (i.e., ''apprehended''; ''suspicious'')
- "Thou wilt be condemned into everlasting ''redemption'' for this." (i.e., ''damnation'')
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