Good morning. Its time for some fun with words.
Kara has written about mondegreens, which are misheard or misinterpreted song lyrics:
- Alanis Morissettes You Oughta Know:
The cross-eyed baby that you gave to me
(Should be The cross I bear that you gave to me)
She has also written about eggcorns, which Dictionary.com describes as a similar sounding misinterpretation that makes sense and usually retains the semantic gist of the original word or phrase.
- The cookbook is being compiled. Please submit your favorite recipe and a short antidote concerning it. (Should be anecdote)
Kara has written about spoonerisms: the transposition of consonants or phonemes within a phrase.
- It was a little fit bunny. (Should be a little bit funny)
And Kara has even covered the malapropism, which is an unintentionally ludicrous word that sounds similar to the original but is completely nonsensical in context.
- Its a proven fact that capital punishment is a known detergent for crime. (Should be deterrent.)
But there are other types of speech blunders that I was interested to find out about and that Im going to share with you today. These come from Dictionary.com.
| parapraxis | From the Latin para meaning beside and the Greek praxis, for a doing, a parapraxis is an instance in which you say one thing and mean your mother er, another.
The term is most commonly known as a Freudian slip and was deeply instrumental in the work of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud in determining his patients hidden intentions and desires. Example: Would you like some butter on your bed? |
| catachresis | From the Greek word meaning abuse or misuse, catachresis happens when a speaker mistakenly uses a word that seems really similar in place of the correct word. These blunders arent necessarily humorous.
Example: She was reticent to jump in the pool. |
| solecism | From the Greek sloikos for speaking incorrectly, solecism refers to the ancient Greek city of Soloi, an Athenian colony infamous for its corrupted form of the Greek language.
Example: Ill never change. I is what I is! |
| mumpsimus | The Renaissance philosopher Desiderius Erasmus coined this word for the determined use of a mistaken expression or practice. In a story, Erasmus describes a monk who stubbornly persisted in saying mumpsimus rather than the correct smpsimus while reciting the Latin liturgy.
Example: If your spouse insists its a doggy-dog world no matter what you sayYour spouses aversion to using the correct phrase (dog eat dog) is known as a mumpsimus. |
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Have a wonderful day!
Donna Bradley Burcher |Technical Editor, Advisory | jack henry
Pronouns she/her/hers
9660 Granite Ridge Drive, San Diego CA 92123
Symitar Documentation Services
About Editors Corner
Editors Corner keeps your communication skills sharp by providing information on grammar, punctuation, JHA style, and all things English. As editors, we spend our days reading, researching, and revising other peoples writing. We love to spend a few extra minutes to share what we learn with you and keep it fun while were doing it.
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