{"id":9201,"date":"2019-11-11T17:00:44","date_gmt":"2019-11-12T01:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/?p=9201"},"modified":"2019-09-26T11:59:20","modified_gmt":"2019-09-26T18:59:20","slug":"malapropisms-funny-mistakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/malapropisms-funny-mistakes\/","title":{"rendered":"Malapropisms: Are You Making These Funny Mistakes?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cMalapropism\u201d (sometimes also referred to as Dogberryism)<\/b><\/p>\n

If you saw your name associated with the terms above, you\u2019d be forgiven if your first thought is to immediately visit your favorite health website and see what type of dreadful disease you may have.<\/p>\n

Fear not\u2014the term malapropism has nothing <\/i>to do with a rare disease. It simply means that you\u2019ve used the incorrect word in place of a word that sounds similar (like saying \u201cpacifically\u201d instead of \u201cspecifically\u201d).<\/p>\n

So breathe easy knowing that you\u2019re only suffering from incorrect word choices<\/a>, and take a look at the examples below to make sure you\u2019re not making one (or more) of these funny wording mistakes.<\/p>\n

What Is a Malapropism?<\/h2>\n

A malapropism is the incorrect use of a word in which you mistakenly replace the correct word with a word that sounds similar.<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all had those embarrassing moments when we say one thing but mean <\/i>to say something else.<\/p>\n

Sometimes these errors are Freudian slips<\/a>, and you say an incorrect word (which may or may not be closely associated with the word you meant to say). While some people say Freudian slips are simply slips of the tongue (with no deeper meaning), others believe that they actually reveal something deeper about you or your personality.<\/p>\n

For instance, you might say<\/i> \u201cI told my boyfriend about the rude customer,\u201d but you meant to say \u201cI told my boss <\/i>about the rude customer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unless, of course, your boyfriend is your boss, some may say that this Freudian slip means that you have hidden romantic feelings for your boss.<\/p>\n

Accidental malapropisms<\/h3>\n

While malapropisms can <\/i>be slips of the tongue, they’re different from Freudian slips because the word you say actually sounds <\/i>much like the word you\u2019re supposed<\/i> to be using. (In some cases, you may even use the wrong word but think<\/i> you\u2019re using it correctly.)<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s an example:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe couple practices monotony.\u201d <\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

In this case, the correct word should be monogamy<\/i> (not monotony).<\/p>\n

Take note:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The resulting malapropism can <\/i>lead to an unintended humorous outcome. In the example above, the joke is that two people who have been together for a very long time as a couple may, in fact, say they have a lot of monotony in their lives.<\/p>\n

Intentional malapropisms<\/h3>\n

Malapropisms are also used intentionally to add humor or satire<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In fact, malapropisms<\/em> as a term first emerged in 1775 thanks to the character Mrs. Malaprop<\/a> in Richard Brinsley Sheridan\u2019s play The Rivals. <\/em>The play is a comedy of manners (meaning it satirizes the behaviors of those in a certain social group, usually the upper class).<\/p>\n

In more modern times, the character Archie Bunker<\/a>, from the 1970s sitcom All in the Family, <\/i>was the master of malapropisms. (While the character <\/i>of Archie Bunker was guilty of mixing up a great many words, the writers knew exactly <\/i>what they were doing when they wrote these humorous lines.)<\/p>\n

Here are two of Archie Bunker\u2019s more famous malapropisms:<\/b><\/p>\n