Malapropisms

[paul secor]

I'm reading John Dufresne's Deep in the Shade of PARADiSE, and there are a number of malapropisms that pop out of the mouths of characters in the book. One of my favorites:

Ouida said, "Alvin Lee first noticed me when I was Queen of Vacation Bible School and he was preaching on The Song of Solomon, and he called me up to the front of the tent and asked could I sing a song to Jesus Christ, my personal Lord and Savior, and I reckoned I could and I sang acapulco - you know, without music - sang 'The Solid Rock.' "

I was reminded that a good friend had told me about a co-worker of his who misused words unintentionally in a humorous fashion and emailed him the above. He got back to me with one his co-worker's classics:

"I went to dinner at the Coronary (Culinary) Institute."

Anyone here heard any good ones?

edit - Joan, my wife, recently informed me that the word malapropism comes from Mrs. Malaprop, a character who misused words in R.B Sheridan's play, The Rivals.

Edited November 24, 2010 by paul secor

[JSngry]

Calling Greg Waits!!!

[Man with the Golden Arm]

Norm Crosby!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zS3a4iSy038

[brownie]

Isn't malapropisms derived from the french mal à propos (inappropriate)?

[JSngry]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malapropism

The word malapropos is an adjective or adverb meaning "inappropriate" or "inappropriately", derived from the French phrase mal à propos (literally "ill-suited").^[1] The earliest English usage of the word cited in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1630. Malaprop used in the linguistic sense was first used by Lord Byron in 1814 according to the OED.

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.

The alternative term "Dogberryism" comes from the 1598 Shakespearean play Much Ado About Nothing, in which the character Dogberry produces many malapropisms with humorous effect.^[2]

^{[url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malapropism#cite_note-1"]}

[medjuck]

Isn't malapropisms derived from the french mal à propos (inappropriate)?

This could be why Sheridan gave her the name.

[JSngry]

Wikipedia agrees with that.

[GA Russell]

When I was in high school, we were required to go to a performance of The Rivals. I enjoyed it.

Twenty-five years ago I attended a party on business where the performer was Norm Crosby. I loved it! After the show, he met everyone, and I told him that he was my mother's favorite. He enjoyed hearing that.

[paul secor]

After all this, I'd like to see a performance of The Rivals - or, barring that, I want to at least read it.

[slide_advantage_redoux]

After all this, I'd like to see a performance of The Rivals - or, barring that, I want to at least read it.

The late Dallas bandleader Durward Cline was quite well known for his unintentional maloprops. Once when asked about his girl singer he was heard replying "Well, she may be good, but she is no fried chicken"

Attending the funeral of an identical twin, he approached the surviving twin and asked "Now, was it you or your brother that died?"

He approached a crowd outside of his music store that had gathered around a man who had passed out. He was heard saying "Stand back; give half a man a chance!"

At one particularly stressful commercial date, he was warned to keep his men in line. He went over to the orchestra and announced that the event organizor "will be watching us like we are hawks" and that "there will be no drinking before, during or after the gig"

The list goes on and on.

When Doc Severinson would come to Dallas, he always asked if there were any more Durward stories to share.

Edited November 25, 2010 by slide_advantage_redoux

[Spontooneous]

When I was a kid, I heard an uncle of mine railing about how "infiltration" was killing his business and killing the country.

Later, the other adults figured out that he meant "inflation."

Funny the things you remember.

Edited November 25, 2010 by Spontooneous

[papsrus]

Archie Bunker? The character was a cereal offender

Smothers Brothers. That was Tom's schtick, wasn't it?

[Jazzmoose]

This guy had a few of 'em...

[Big Wheel]

A local quasi-malapropism: I constantly say "Hey, let's go to Mitchell Brothers" when referring to local landmark Mitchell's Ice Cream.. Mitchell Brothers is a rather different local establishment...

[Jazzmoose]

Well, if we're confessing, for some reason I have serious troubles pronouncing the name of one store my ex used to love. But I'd still felt obligated to join her on trips to Bad Beth and Beyond.