{{Short description|Misuse of a word}} A '''malapropism''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|æ|l|ə|p|r|ɒ|p|ɪ|z|əm}}; also called a '''malaprop''', '''acyrologia''' or '''Dogberryism''') is the incorrect use of a word in place of a word with a similar sound, either unintentionally or for comedic effect, resulting in a nonsensical, often humorous [[utterance]]. An example is the statement attributed to baseball player [[Yogi Berra]], regarding [[switch hitter]]s, "He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious",<ref name="mlb">{{cite web |date=December 8, 2021 |title='Yogisms': Yogi Berra's best sayings |url=https://www.mlb.com/news/yogisms-best-yogi-berra-sayings |work=mlb.com |publisher=[[Major League Baseball]]}}</ref><ref name="inside-pitch">{{Cite magazine |last=Spoelker |first=Robert |date=Fall 2015 |title=Last Inning: Here's to you, Yogi! |url=https://www.abca.org/magazine/magazine/2015-4-Fall/Last_Inning_Heres_to_you_Yogi.aspx |access-date=March 17, 2026 |url-status=live |magazine=Inside Pitch Magazine |publisher=American Baseball Coaches Association |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221002140625/https://www.abca.org/magazine/magazine/2015-4-Fall/Last_Inning_Heres_to_you_Yogi.aspx |archive-date=2022-10-02}}</ref> with the accidental use of ''[[amphibian|amphibious]]'' rather than the intended ''[[ambidextrous]]''. Malapropisms often occur as [[speech error|errors]] in natural speech and are sometimes the subject of media attention, especially when made by politicians or other prominent individuals.
==Etymology== [[File:Drew-Mrs-Malaprop.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Louisa Lane Drew]] as Mrs. Malaprop in an 1895 production of ''[[The Rivals]]'']]
The word "malapropism" (and its earlier form, "malaprop") comes from a character named "Mrs. Malaprop" in [[Richard Brinsley Sheridan]]'s 1775 play ''[[The Rivals]]''.<ref name="oxforddict">{{cite encyclopedia |year=2000 |title=malapropism, n. |encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |edition=3 |isbn=978-0-19-957112-3}}</ref> Mrs. Malaprop frequently misspeaks (to comic effect) by using words which do not have the meaning that she intends but which sound similar to words that do. Sheridan chose her name in humorous reference to the word ''malapropos,'' an adjective or adverb meaning "inappropriate" or "inappropriately", derived from the [[French language|French]] phrase ''mal à propos'' (literally "poorly placed"). According to the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'', the first recorded use of "malapropos" in English is from 1630,<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2000 |title=malapropos, adv., adj., and n. |encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |edition=3 |isbn=978-0-19-957112-3}}</ref> and the first person known to have used the word "malaprop" specifically in the sense of "a speech error" is [[Lord Byron]] in 1814.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2000 |title=malaprop, n. and adj. |encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |edition=3 |isbn=978-0-19-957112-3}}</ref>
The synonymous term "Dogberryism" comes from the 1598 Shakespeare play ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' in which the character [[Dogberry]] utters many malapropisms to humorous effect.<ref>{{cite book |last=Berger |first=Harry |title=Situated Utterances |publisher=Fordham University Press |year=2005 |isbn=0-8232-2429-5 |page=499}}</ref> Though Shakespeare was an earlier writer than Sheridan, "malaprop/malapropism" seems an earlier coinage than "Dogberryism", which is not attested until 1836.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |year=2010 |title=Dogberry, n.2 |encyclopedia=Oxford English Dictionary online |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |url=http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/56415 |access-date=2013-09-09 |isbn=978-0-19-957112-3}}</ref>
==Distinguishing features== An instance of speech error is called a malapropism when a word is produced which is nonsensical or ludicrous in context yet similar in sound to what was intended.<ref name="AitchisonStraf">{{cite book |last1=Aitchison |first1=Jeanne |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ILBaZpZIyXEC |title=Slips of the Tongue and Language Production |last2=Straf |first2=Miron |publisher=Walter de Gruyter |year=1982 |isbn=978-3-11-082830-6 |editor=Anne Cutler |pages=197–242 |chapter=Lexical storage and retrieval: a developing skill? |access-date=2013-09-12}}</ref>
Definitions differ somewhat in terms of the cause of the error. Some scholars include only errors that result from a temporary failure to produce the word which the speaker intended.<ref name="FayCutler">{{Cite journal |last1=Fay |first1=David |last2=Cutler |first2=Anne |year=1977 |title=Malapropisms and the Structure of the Mental Lexicon |url=http://www.mpi.nl/publications/escidoc-68653 |url-status=dead |journal=Linguistic Inquiry |volume=8 |issue=3 |pages=505–520 |jstor=4177997 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816141201/http://www.mpi.nl/publications/escidoc-68653 |archive-date=2016-08-16 |access-date=2015-10-31}}</ref> Such errors are sometimes called "Fay–Cutler malapropism", after [[psycholinguists]] David Fay and [[Anne Cutler]], who described the occurrence of such errors in ordinary speech.<ref name="AitchisonStraf" /><ref name="Zwicky">{{cite book |last=Zwicky |first=Arnold |url=https://archive.org/details/exceptionallangu0000unse/page/115 |title=Exceptional Language and Linguistics |publisher=Academic Press |year=1982 |isbn=978-0-12-523680-5 |editor=Loraine Obler and Lise Menn |pages=[https://archive.org/details/exceptionallangu0000unse/page/115 115–132] |chapter=Classical malapropisms and the creation of the mental lexicon |access-date=2013-09-12 |chapter-url=http://www.stanford.edu/~zwicky/malapropism-mental-lexicon.pdf}}</ref> Most definitions, however, include any actual word that is wrongly or accidentally used in place of a similar sounding, correct word. This broader definition is sometimes called "classical malapropism",<ref name="Zwicky" /> or simply "malapropism".<ref name="AitchisonStraf" />
Malapropisms differ from other kinds of speaking or writing mistakes, such as [[eggcorn]]s or [[spoonerism]]s, as well as the accidental or deliberate production of newly made-up words ([[neologisms]]).<ref name="Zwicky" />
For example, it is not a malapropism to use ''obtuse'' [wide or dull] instead of ''acute'' [narrow or sharp]; it is a malapropism to use ''obtuse'' [stupid or slow-witted] when one means ''abstruse'' [esoteric or difficult to understand].
Malapropisms tend to maintain the [[part of speech]] of the originally intended word. According to linguist [[Jean Aitchison]], "The finding that word selection errors preserve their part of speech suggest[s] that the latter is an integral part of the word, and tightly attached to it."<ref name="Aitchison">{{Cite book |last=Aitchison |first=Jean |title=Words in the Mind: An Introduction to the Mental Lexicon |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |year=2012 |isbn=978-1118170960}}</ref> Likewise, substitutions tend to have the same number of [[syllable]]s and the same [[Metrical phonology|metrical structure]] – the same pattern of [[Stress (linguistics)|stressed]] and unstressed syllables – as the intended word or phrase. If the stress pattern of the malapropism differs from the intended word, unstressed syllables may be deleted or inserted; stressed syllables and the general rhythmic pattern are maintained.<ref name="Aitchison" />
==Examples from fiction and comedy== The term is named for the fictional Mrs. Malaprop in Sheridan's play ''The Rivals'', who frequently replaces words in her speech. For example: declares to Captain Absolute in Act 3 Scene III: "Sure, if I ''reprehend'' any thing in this world it is the use of my ''[[oracular]]'' tongue, and a nice ''derangement'' of ''[[epitaph]]s''!"<ref name="Rivals">{{Citation |last=Sheridan |first=Richard Brinsley |title=The Rivals: A Comedy |year=2008 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24761 |access-date=2012-07-10 |orig-year=1775}}</ref> This nonsensical utterance might, for example, be corrected to, "If I ''apprehend'' anything in this world, it is the use of my ''[[vernacular]]'' tongue, and a nice ''arrangement'' of ''[[epithet]]s''",<ref>{{cite web |title=Quotations from Richard Brinsley Sheridan |url=http://www.poemhunter.com/quotations/famous.asp?people=Richard%20Brinsley%20Sheridan&p=2 |access-date=2012-07-10 |publisher=Poem Hunter}}</ref> —although these are not the only words that can be substituted to produce an appropriately expressed thought in this context, and commentators have proposed other possible replacements that work just as well.{{cn|date=January 2025}} Other malapropisms spoken by Mrs. Malaprop include "''illiterate'' him quite from your memory" (instead of "obliterate"), "he is the very ''pineapple'' of politeness" (instead of ''pinnacle'') and "she's as headstrong as an ''allegory'' on the banks of the Nile" (instead of ''alligator'').<ref name="Rivals" />
Malapropisms appeared in many works before Sheridan created the character of Mrs. Malaprop. [[William Shakespeare]] used them in a number of his plays, almost invariably spoken by comic ill-educated lower class characters. [[Mistress Quickly]], the inn-keeper associate of [[Falstaff]] in several Shakespeare plays, is a regular user of malapropisms.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Fergusun |first=Margaret |title=Dido's Daughters: Literacy, Gender, and Empire in Early Modern England and France |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2007 |p=17}}</ref> In Act 3, Scene V of ''Much Ado About Nothing'', Constable Dogberry tells Governor Leonato, "Our watch, sir, have indeed ''comprehended'' two ''auspicious'' persons" (i.e., ''apprehended'' two ''suspicious'' persons).<ref>{{Citation |last=Shakespeare |first=William |title=Much Ado About Nothing |year=1997 |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/1118 |access-date=2012-07-10 |orig-year=1598}}</ref>
Malapropism was one of [[Stan Laurel]]'s comic mannerisms. In ''[[Sons of the Desert]]'', for example, he says that [[Oliver Hardy]] is suffering a nervous "shakedown" (rather than "breakdown"), calls the Exalted Ruler of their group the "exhausted ruler" and says that he and Oliver are like "two peas in a pot" (instead of "pod"); in ''The Music Box'', he inadvertently asked a policeman, "Don't you think you're bounding over your steps?" meaning "overstepping your bounds",<ref>{{cite book |last=Gehring |first=Wes |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VcVohkED9e4C |title=Laurel and Hardy: A Bio-Bibliography |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=1990 |isbn=978-0-313-25172-6 |access-date=11 December 2012}}</ref> which has much in common with the transposition of a Spoonerism. Sometimes even Laurel's partner, [[Oliver Hardy]], also practiced malapropism, particularly correcting Stan's; in ''[[The Live Ghost]]'' Stan tells a captain that he heard the ocean is ''infatuated'' with sharks. Oliver is quick to call out Stan's malapropism only to correct him with another: "Not ''infatuated''! He means ''infuriated''." The correct word in question is actually ''infested''.
[[Emily Litella]], a fictional character created and performed by American comedian [[Gilda Radner]] used malapropism to entertain viewers on the late-night comedy show ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'',<ref>{{cite web |date=2020-05-17 |title=Word of the Day: Malapropism |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-of-the-day/malapropism-2020-05-17 |access-date=2021-06-03 |website=Merriam-Webster}}</ref> including one skit in which she was puzzled over the hubbub surrounding the "plight of Soviet jewelry" instead of "Soviet Jewry".<ref>{{cite web |last=Higgins |first=Sean |date=January 1, 2009 |title=The Censorship Doctrine: Silencing Talk Radio in the Name of 'Fairness' |url=https://capitalresearch.org/article/the-censorship-doctrine-silencing-talk-radio-in-the-name-of-fairness/ |work=Foundation Watch}}</ref>
British comedian [[Ronnie Barker]] also made great use of deliberate malapropisms in his comedy, notably in such sketches as his "Appeal on behalf of the Loyal Society for the Relief of Suffers from Pismronunciation", which mixed malapropisms and garbled words for comic effect – including news of a speech which "gave us a few ''well-frozen worms'' (i.e., well-chosen words) in praise of the society".<ref>{{Cite news |date=October 4, 2005 |title=Ronnie Barker monologue: Pismronunciation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/oct/04/bbc.arts |access-date=2026-02-15 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>{{Primary source inline|date=June 2016}}
[[Ring Lardner]] used malapropism extensively for comic effect.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lardner |first=Ring |title=The Lost Journalism of Ring Lardner |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |year=2017 |isbn=978-0803269736 |editor-last=Rapoport |editor-first=Ron |location=Nebraska |pages=531}}</ref> For example, in his short story ''The Young Immigrunts'', the four-year-old narrator repeatedly refers to a bride and groom as the "bride and glum".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lardner |first=Ring |title=Ring Lardner: Stories & Other Writings |publisher=Library of America |year=2013 |isbn=978-1598532531 |editor-last=Frazier |editor-first=Ian |location=New York |pages=310}}</ref>
[[Archie Bunker]], a character in the American TV sitcom ''[[All in the Family]]'', used malapropisms frequently: he refers, for example, to "off-the-docks Jews" ([[Orthodox Judaism|Orthodox Jews]]) and the "Women's ''Lubrication'' Movement" (rather than ''Liberation'').<ref>{{cite book |last1=Shapiro |first1=Marianne |title=From The Critic's Workbench: Essays In Literature And Semiotics |last2=Shapiro |first2=Michael |publisher=Peter Lang |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-8204-7915-6 |chapter=Chapter 21: The semiotics of Archie Bunker |access-date=2012-07-10 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Vkww4u5BnU0C&pg=PA471}}</ref> Intending to refer to the medical specialized field of [[gynecology]] and to specialist in that field as a gynecologist, he would mispronounce the words as "groinecology" and "groinecologist".<ref>{{cite web |title=Examples of Malaproposism |url=https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-malapropism.html |accessdate=April 2, 2022 |publisher=YourDictionary.com}}</ref>
[[Tyler Perry]]'s fictional character [[Madea]] is known for her [[Southern United States|Southern]] dialectical usage of malapropisms, which some critics link to the [[Mammy stereotype|mammy archetype]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Merritt |first1=Bishetta D. |title=Interpreting Tyler Perry: Perspectives on Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality |last2=Cummings |first2=Melbourne S. |year=2013 |isbn=9781315889832 |editor=J.S.C. Bell |chapter=The African American Woman on Film |doi=10.4324/9781315889832 |editor2=R.L. Jackson II}}</ref>
[[Ricky LaFleur]] of the [[Trailer Park Boys]] is known for his constant malapropisms, which are often called "Rickyisms".<ref name="Elizabeth">{{cite web |last1=Elizabeth |first1=Hilary |author2=Colin McCormick |title=Trailer Park Boys: 15 Hilarious Rickyisms We've Added To Our Vocabulary |url=https://screenrant.com/trailer-park-boys-hilarious-ricky-quotes/ |access-date=8 June 2025 |website=ScreenRant}}</ref>{{better source|date=June 2025|reason=Cites sources call these "Rickyisms" or "Ricky quotes", but not "malapropisms" or similar}} Some of his more notable ones include "worst case Ontario" (instead of "worst case scenario") and "two turnips in heat" (instead of "turn up the heat").<ref name="Elizabeth"/><ref>{{cite web |last1=McCormick |first1=Colin |author2=Kristy Ambrose |author3=Shawn S. Lealos |title=Trailer Park Boys: 30 Hilarious Ricky Quotes That Are Just Sweet Empowered |url=https://screenrant.com/trailer-park-boys-ricky-quotes-sweet-empowered/ |access-date=8 June 2025 |website=ScreenRant}}</ref>
A parody by author [[Michael Rosen]] of the [[Fairy tale|traditional story]] of [[Hansel and Gretel]], entitled "Handsel and Gristle," makes extensive use of malapropisms. For example, the character of the woodcutter becomes the "woodnutter," their "cottage" is replaced with a "sausage" and the word "any" is replaced with the [[proper noun]] "Lenny" - who is also treated as an additional character by the narrator whenever this occurs.
==Real-life examples== Malapropisms do not occur only as comedic literary devices. They also occur as a kind of [[speech error]] in ordinary speech.<ref name="FayCutler" /> Malapropisms of a number of notable persons [[:Category:Terms for quotations of notable persons|have individual names]], such as "[[Bushism]]", "[[Wałęsism]]", etc. Other notable examples quoted in the media are:
*Former Australian prime minister [[Tony Abbott]] once claimed that no one "is the ''[[suppository]]'' of all wisdom" (i.e., ''[[:wikt:repository|repository]]'' or ''depository'').<ref>{{Cite web |last=Swan |first=Jonathan |date=August 12, 2013 |title=Liberals squirm as Abbott refers to 'the suppository of wisdom' |url=https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/liberals-squirm-as-abbott-refers-to-the-suppository-of-wisdom-20130812-2rryy.html |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250920022132/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/liberals-squirm-as-abbott-refers-to-the-suppository-of-wisdom-20130812-2rryy.html |archive-date=September 20, 2025 |access-date=2026-02-15 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>
*Similarly, as reported in ''[[New Scientist]]'', an office worker had described a colleague as "a vast ''suppository'' of information". The worker then apologised for his "''[[Miss Marple|Miss-Marple-ism]]''" (i.e., ''malapropism'').<ref>{{Cite web |date=2005-06-15 |title=Feedback |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18625042-600-feedback/ |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260112100037/https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg18625042-600-feedback/ |archive-date=January 12, 2026 |access-date=2026-02-15 |website=New Scientist |language=en-US}}</ref> ''New Scientist'' noted this as possibly the first time anyone had uttered a malapropism for the word ''malapropism'' itself.
*[[Bertie Ahern]], a former [[Taoiseach]] of [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]], once warned his country against "upsetting the ''apple tart''" (''apple cart'') of his country's economic success.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Mayer |first=Catherine |date=2007-04-26 |title=Mr. Popularity |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1614940,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114181741/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1614940,00.html |archive-date=November 14, 2007 |access-date=2010-05-12 |magazine=Time}}</ref>
*[[Richard J. Daley]], a former [[mayor of Chicago]], referred to a [[tandem bicycle]] as a "tantrum bicycle" and made mention of "Alcoholics ''Unanimous''" ([[Alcoholics Anonymous]]).<ref>{{cite book |last=Kennedy |first=Eugene |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tAAUAAAAYAAJ |title=Himself!: The Life and Times of Mayor Richard J. Daley |publisher=Viking Press |year=1978 |isbn=978-0-670-37258-4 |access-date=2012-07-10}}</ref>
*[[The Beatles|Beatles]] drummer [[Ringo Starr|Ringo Starr's]] idiosyncratic turns of phrase or "[[Ringoisms]]", such as "[[A Hard Day's Night (song)#Title|a hard day's night]]" and "[[Tomorrow Never Knows#Title|tomorrow never knows]]", were used as song titles by the Beatles, particularly by [[John Lennon]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Harry |first=Bill |title=The Ringo Starr Encyclopedia |publisher=Virgin Books |year=2004 |isbn=978-0-7535-0843-5}}</ref> *[[Rick Perry]], a former [[Governor of Texas]], has been known to commonly utter malapropisms. For example, he described states as "[[toilet (room)|lavatories]] of innovation and democracy" instead of "laboratories".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Whittaker |first=Richard |date=August 28, 2014 |title=Perry: Welcome to the 'Lavatory' |url=https://www.austinchronicle.com/news/perry-welcome-to-the-lavatory-11761665/ |access-date=2026-02-15 |website=The Austin Chronicle |language=en-US}}</ref>
*During a Senate hearing, Philippine presidential communications assistant secretary [[Mocha Uson]] stumbled on the legal phrase "right against self-incrimination" by invoking her "right against self-discrimination" instead.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Ager |first=Maila |date=October 4, 2017 |title=Mocha invokes right against self-discri… er, incrimination at Senate hearing |url=https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/935422/mocha-invokes-right-against-self-discri-er-incrimination-at-senate-fake-news-hearing |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250628095326/https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/935422/mocha-invokes-right-against-self-discri-er-incrimination-at-senate-fake-news-hearing |archive-date=June 28, 2025 |access-date=2026-02-15 |website=INQUIRER.net |language=en}}</ref>
* In 2016, [[Welsh Conservatives|Welsh Conservative]] leader [[Andrew R. T. Davies|Andrew Davies]] encouraged the Conservative Party conference to make ''breakfast'' (''[[Brexit]]'') a success.<ref name="Micklethwaite">{{cite web |last=Micklethwaite |first=Jamie |date=5 October 2016 |title='We will make breakfast a success': Top Tory Andrew Davies makes hilarious Brexit gaffe at party conference |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/we-will-make-breakfast-a-success-top-tory-make-hilarious-brexit-gaffe-at-party-conference-a3361076.html |access-date=30 June 2025 |website=The Standard}}</ref>
*World heavyweight champion boxer [[Mike Tyson]], upon being asked about his next plans moments after losing in a world title fight with [[Lennox Lewis]], declared that "I might fade into [[Bolivians|Bolivian]]" (oblivion).<ref>{{cite web |author1=Just |first=Billy |date=30 January 2017 |title=Mike Tyson fades into Bolivian |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4E7uGW1eok |url-status=live |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/C4E7uGW1eok |archive-date=2021-12-11 |via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Simmons |first1=Bill |date=February 6, 2011 |title=Say 'goodbye' to our little friend |url=http://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/020611 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240126182638/https://www.espn.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/020611 |archive-date=Jan 26, 2024 |access-date=February 15, 2026 |work=Page 2 |publisher=ESPN.com}}</ref>
*During the [[COVID-19 pandemic]], a common [[Internet meme |meme format]] was introduced where Internet users feigned malapropism by substituting the word "[[pandemic]]" with similar sounding words (such as "[[panorama]]", "[[wikt:pandemonium|pandemonium]]", or "[[Panini (sandwich)|panini]]"), a practice often attributed to [[Black Twitter]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Brown |first1=Evan Nicole |date=19 March 2021 |title=How Nicknames for the Pandemic Became a Popular Online Trend |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/19/style/pandemic-nicknames.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250810060638/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/19/style/pandemic-nicknames.html |archive-date=August 10, 2025 |access-date=10 April 2022 |website=The New York Times}}</ref>
*United States congresswoman [[Marjorie Taylor Greene]] has uttered various malapropisms, including "peach tree dish"<ref>{{cite web |last1=Naughtie |first1=Andrew |date=30 May 2022 |title=Marjorie Taylor Greene warns of meat grown in a 'peach tree dish' while peddling Bill Gates conspiracy |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/marjorie-taylor-green-bill-gates-meat-b2090463.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230628013005/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/marjorie-taylor-green-bill-gates-meat-b2090463.html |archive-date=June 28, 2023 |access-date=February 15, 2026 |website=[[Independent.co.uk]]}}</ref> ([[petri dish]]), "[[gazpacho]] police"<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Moran |first1=Lee |date=2022-02-12 |title=Marjorie Taylor Greene Addresses 'Gazpacho Police' Gaffe, Only Makes The Mockery Worse |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marjorie-taylor-greene-gazpacho-police-response_n_6207756de4b083bd1cbef09a |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231202023640/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/marjorie-taylor-greene-gazpacho-police-response_n_6207756de4b083bd1cbef09a |archive-date=Dec 2, 2023 |access-date=February 15, 2026 |website=HuffPost |language=en}}</ref> ([[Gestapo]]), and "[[Aroma compound|fragrantly]] violated"<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fletcher |first=Harry |date=Jun 10, 2022 |title=Marjorie Taylor Greene's latest blunder might be the funniest yet |url=https://www.indy100.com/viral/marjorie-taylor-greene-blunder |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240215003116/https://www.indy100.com/viral/marjorie-taylor-greene-blunder |archive-date=Feb 15, 2024 |access-date=February 15, 2026 |website=indy100 |quote=Rather than saying rights had been 'flagrantly violated, Greene instead said 'fragrant'. "…and why their due process rights are being so fragrantly and horrifically violated," she says in a clip, which has been shared far and wide on social media.}}</ref> (flagrantly), among others.
*During the lead-up to the [[2022 United States elections|2022 U.S. midterm elections]], Republican Senate candidate [[Herschel Walker]] was mocked online after stating "this erection is about the people" (election), during an interview on Fox News.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bickerton |first1=James |date=23 November 2022 |title=Herschel Walker's 'erection' remark sparks torrent of memes, jokes |url=https://www.newsweek.com/herschel-walkers-erection-remark-spark-torrent-memes-jokes-1761658 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230421092106/https://www.newsweek.com/herschel-walkers-erection-remark-spark-torrent-memes-jokes-1761658 |archive-date=Apr 21, 2023 |website=[[Newsweek]]}}</ref>
*In March 2024, Maryland Democratic Representative and [[2024 United States Senate election in Maryland|Senate front-runner candidate]] [[David Trone]], speaking to [[Shalanda Young]] on the [[United States House of Representatives]] floor downplaying Republican concerns about tax rates, stated "So this Republican jigaboo that it's the tax rate that's stopping business investment, it's just completely faulty." Trone faced criticism and later apologized, stating that he had meant to use the word "bugaboo" instead of the racial slur, and ultimately lost the primary election to [[Angela Alsobrooks]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cox |first1=Erin |title=Congressman apologizes for using racial slur instead of saying ‘bugaboo’ |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2024/03/21/david-trone-congress-racial-insult/ |work=The Washington Post |date=22 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Collins |first1=Gary |title=Senate hopeful Trone in hot water over racial slip-up and tense committee hearing |url=https://wset.com/news/nation-world/senate-hopeful-trone-in-hot-water-over-racial-slip-up-and-tense-committee-hearing-david-maryland-hogan-alsobrooks-house-budget-montgomery-county-dc-baltimore-biden-outburst-jigaboo-slur-race-issue-senator-election |work=WSET |agency=ABC |date=22 March 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
*In September 2024, at the Labour Party Conference, Prime Minister [[Keir Starmer]] called for "the return of the sausages" when talking about the [[Gaza war hostage crisis|Israeli hostages held in Gaza]].<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://news.sky.com/video/prime-minister-sir-keir-starmer-calls-for-return-of-the-sausages-in-gaza-13221266 |title=Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer calls for 'return of the sausages' in Gaza |date=24 September 2024 |type=Video |language=en |publisher=[[Sky News]] |access-date=2026-02-15 |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260208095050/https://news.sky.com/video/prime-minister-sir-keir-starmer-calls-for-return-of-the-sausages-in-gaza-13221266 |archive-date=February 8, 2026 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=<!-- ToI Staff --> |date=September 24, 2024 |title=UK’s Starmer calls for ‘return of the sausages’ instead of hostages in speech gaffe |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/uks-starmer-calls-for-return-of-the-sausages-instead-of-hostages-in-speech-gaffe/ |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250120193300/https://www.timesofisrael.com/uks-starmer-calls-for-return-of-the-sausages-instead-of-hostages-in-speech-gaffe/ |archive-date=January 20, 2025 |access-date=2026-02-15 |work=The Times of Israel |language=en-US |issn=0040-7909}}</ref>
*[[Ford Motor Company]] executive Mike O'Brien kept a list of malapropisms he heard while working at the company, such as "let’s not reinvent the ocean", "read between the tea leaves", "I know it like the back of my head", and "he’s going to be so happy he’ll be like a [[canary in a coal mine]]!"<ref>{{Cite news |last=Colias |first=Mike |date=March 26, 2025 |title=The Ford Executive Who Kept Score of Colleagues' Verbal Flubs |url=https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ford-motor-mike-obrien-malaprops-6e560520 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260206060449/https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/ford-motor-mike-obrien-malaprops-6e560520 |archive-date=February 6, 2026 |access-date=2025-04-23 |website=The Wall Street Journal |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Peralta |first=Eyder |date=2025-03-30 |title=A retired executive shares 10 years' worth of his colleagues' verbal gaffes |url=https://www.npr.org/2025/03/30/nx-s1-5342543/a-retired-executive-shares-10-years-worth-of-his-colleagues-verbal-gaffes |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260116085107/https://www.npr.org/2025/03/30/nx-s1-5342543/a-retired-executive-shares-10-years-worth-of-his-colleagues-verbal-gaffes |archive-date=January 16, 2026 |access-date=2025-04-23 |work=NPR |language=en}}</ref>
==See also== {{div col|colwidth=22em}} * [[Anti-proverb]] * [[Catachresis]] * [[Error (linguistics)]] * [[Freudian slip]] * [[Homonym]] * ''[[Johnny Dangerously]]'' * [[Leo Gorcey]] * [[Mondegreen]] * [[Mumpsimus]] * ''[[Nearest and Dearest]]'' * [[Norm Crosby]] * [[Spoonerism]] * ''[[Trailer Park Boys]]'' {{Div col end}}
==References== {{Reflist|30em}}
==Further reading== * {{cite news |last1=Weingarten |first1=Gene |date=2014-02-16 |title=Word up! Grammarian Gene Weingarten goes after add homonym attacks |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/2013/09/27/b5434fd2-8511-11e3-bbe5-6a2a3141e3a9_story.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=2014-02-25 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}
==External links== *{{Wiktionary-inline|malapropism}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Speech error]] [[Category:Puns]] [[Category:Lexicology]]