Yesterday's visit from the chimney chaps gave me the first malapropism I've heard for a little while, but they are one of my favourite things to overhear. And It's not unknown for me to spill one from my own lips, struggling as I often do to find the right word. I have a friend who is a rich source of putting the wrong word in the right place - or should it be the right word in the wrong place? No-one ever corrects them; the words hang in the air, haloed and buoyed by the communal effort of keeping a relaxed look on the face. You wonder if you misheard, and then realise not. And then a few minutes later it is repeated and you take every care to keep those face muscles still. This unintentional word juggling is part of the joy of talking to this friend, and you wouldn't want to hurt their feelings in any way. The twinkle in the eye of the listener is one of warmth and inner pleasures, and the tales themselves so enjoyable and unlikely but true, that I think we get away with it. I hope we do.
Friday, 18 May 2007
Mrs Malaprop
Yesterday's visit from the chimney chaps gave me the first malapropism I've heard for a little while, but they are one of my favourite things to overhear. And It's not unknown for me to spill one from my own lips, struggling as I often do to find the right word. I have a friend who is a rich source of putting the wrong word in the right place - or should it be the right word in the wrong place? No-one ever corrects them; the words hang in the air, haloed and buoyed by the communal effort of keeping a relaxed look on the face. You wonder if you misheard, and then realise not. And then a few minutes later it is repeated and you take every care to keep those face muscles still. This unintentional word juggling is part of the joy of talking to this friend, and you wouldn't want to hurt their feelings in any way. The twinkle in the eye of the listener is one of warmth and inner pleasures, and the tales themselves so enjoyable and unlikely but true, that I think we get away with it. I hope we do.
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5 comments:
Examples please!
But what was it????
Malopropisms are delightful and as yoou suggest we are all capable of making these boobs. Currently in Eastenders the scriptwriters frequently put errors on the lips of Honey - Billy Mitchell's wife and years ago Hilda Ogden was the same. In my school we used to have a teacher called Mr Trevorrow. One day a kid came to me looking for "Mr Tomorrow"! Thing was this guy was definitely Mr Yesterday!
I thought about giving specific examples but was worried about causing offence. However, the chimney chaps' nicety is there in the blog below as a quick update.
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