The term malapropism comes from a play called ‘The Rivals’ by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, which was first performed in 1775. This play featured a character called Mrs Malaprop who frequently misspoke, with great comic effect. Her name, of course, comes from the French term mal á propos, meaning inopportune or not to the purpose.

When someone uses a malapropism it is because:

• They’ve used a word that was not what they intended, given the context
• The word sounds similar to the one intended
• The word used actually means something different (i.e. it is not a made-up word)

Malapropisms are often the same part of speech, begin or end in the same way, or have the same rhythm when spoken.

Here are some expamples from ‘The Rivals’:

• ‘Promise to forget this fellow, to illiterate him, I say, quite from your memory.’ (obliterate)
• ‘She might reprehend the true meaning of what she is saying.’ (comprehend)
• ‘He’s as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile.’ (alligator)
• ‘He is the very pineapple of politeness.’ (pinnacle)

Here are two examples from ‘The Merchant of Venice’, both spoken by Launcelot:

• ‘Certainly [Shylock] is the very devil incarnal.’ (incarnate)
• ‘That is the very defect of the matter sir.’ (effect)

Some other funny examples:

• Dad says the monster is just a pigment of my imagination. (figment)
• He’s a wolf in cheap clothing. (sheep’s)
• My friend has extra-century perception. (sensory)

Bushisms

President George W. Bush was famous for some of his malapropisms, and not without good reason:

• ‘We cannot let terrorists or rogue nations hold this nation hostile or hold our allies hostile.’
• ‘It will take time to restore chaos and order.’
• ‘They have miscalculated me as a leader.’
• ‘I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but for my predecessors as well.’
• ‘We need an energy bill that encourages consumption.’