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Malapropism: A Hilarious Misunderstanding
20 | Dr . K.C. Sethi & Sunita Sethi
20 | Dr. K.C. Sethi & Sunita Sethi
. K.C. Sethi & Sunita Sethi
20 | Dr
misunderstanding of verbal blunder had accomplished our mission. Our
Principal's nephew was never seen on the stage again. Such was the humour
generated by malapropism!
Do you tend to mistreat or misuse your words in humorous ways? You've Malapropism is taken from Mrs. Malaprop in Irish-born playwright Richard
made a malapropism and everyone—from politicians to famous literary
Brinsley Sheridan's 'The Rivals', a five-act comedy, who used to produce
characters—are guilty of such errors. While using (misusing) the words, you
tongue slips. Her name became the default term for misusing a word. The
didn't know, there is a name for these linguistic goofs. That is 'Malapropism'.
word malaprop, a variant of malapropism, comes from the French phrase, 'mal
Malapropism is defined as “the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar a propos' which means poorly placed or ill-suited. William Shakespeare used it
sounding one, often with an amusing meaning and effect”. for comic effect often creating hilariously comic situations evoking laughter as
The other day one of my colleagues said with great enthusiasm, “I have taken well as embarrassment. Malapropism is also referred to as Dogberryism,
up aerobics to help maintain my well-propositional figure.” His linguistic slip- named after officer Dogberry in Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing'.
up aroused much laughter. But Malapropism doesn't occur only in comedic literary devices. They are
Inappropriate utterance is noticed very quickly leading to collective laughter common in speech and writing as one of my fellow professors said rather
revealing how the speaker unwittingly becomes a laughing stock. We tried innocently, “The fun and excitement of childhood are nothing compared to
hard to hold back our guffaws while inspecting food in a hostel mess, the head the fun and excitement of adultery (adulthood).”
of the institution said, “The food is so bad it isn't fit for human constipation
Incorrect constructions add ludicrous elements to a written or verbal
(consumption)”.
statement. At a crowded function, plenty of seats remained unoccupied in the
While most instances of malapropism are funny ones and unintentional front rows. Wanting to help, the host announced on the microphone: “All of
errors, a malapropism can technically be a deliberate misuse of a word too. you in the backside, come to the front”. The backside is a non-detachable part
I remember how in our school once we made use of malapropism to seek of human anatomy and is always located behind. The beginning of the hall is
revenge with Ratan, a classmate of ours who happened to be our Principal's the front and the rear is where it ends. A useful input turned into a spot on
nephew. He was a horrible orator, poor in knowledge and mean in comedy because of incorrect usage.
understanding. He was always given the honour of offering vote of thanks on So the giddy ghost of Mrs. Malaprop continues to haunt the hallowed halls of
Annual Day functions. He spoke crammed lines without any voice language be it a vicarious (er voracious) reader or a vagrant (er vibrant) writer
modulation as teachers anxiously waited for him to finish without a glitch. or a truant (er fluent) speaker. However hard we endeavour to be perfect,
We stole the script once on an Annual day and changed few lines in it. “Our children as well as adults — all indulge in this hilarious verbal
Principal is a great philanthropist and a prolific writer” was read as, “Our misunderstanding often resulting in moments of embarrassment and
Principal is a great philanderer and profligate wastrel”. Our teachers stood epiphany!
stupefied at this impeach. “Chief Guest's utterances were wise and flawless”
became, “Chief Guest's farts were fine and flawless” in the tampered script.
~ Dr Ritu Kamra Kumar~
“His graceful demeanor was pinnacle of temperament polite” became, “His
waist's diameter was pineapple of appetite”. Finally Ratan ended his speech
with, “God, who is omnivorous (omnipotent) bless us all.” A hilarious
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