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mal·a·prop·ism

  /ˈmæl ə prɒpˌɪz əm/ Show Spelled[mal-uh-prop-iz-uh m] Show IPA

–noun

1.

an act or habit of misusing words ridiculously, esp. by the confusion of words that are similar in sound.

2.

an instance of this, as in “Lead the way and we’ll precede.”

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Origin:
1840–50; Malaprop + -ism

The terms malapropism and the earlier variant malaprop come from Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1775 play The Rivals, and in particular the character Mrs. Malaprop. Sheridan presumably named his character Mrs. Malaprop, who frequently misspoke (to great comic effect), in joking reference to the word malapropos.

Last time we talked about words that were created rather than evolved. Being a bit of a purist, I tend to shy away from this concept. And yes, that means I’m not always any too happy when the announcement is made, usually once a year, about the “new” words to be added to my beloved dictionary. These words are often colloquialisms, which (if you ask me) is not always a terrific reason for adding them for all time.

Here are a few examples: aerobicize, bada-bing, Disneyfied hooptie, and wonky. Okay, I kind of like wonky, but come on!

But I digress. Maybe because malapropism was added back in 1935 I haven’t got a problem with it.

Grammar Punk Sentence:

W E 5 Adv. (   )

Wendy often became confabulated (and not a little winded) when wending her wandering way home from the Winter Polar Bear extravagance.

Give it a try. Share your sentence with us. Make sure it contains 3 words with the letters W and E and try a malapropism of your own!