Amusing mispronunciations

Some of these are called malapropisms, after a character called Mrs. Malaprop from some old radio comedy (mal a propos, French for ‘not fit for purpose’).

Example:
Christoper Columbus circumsised the world with forty foot clippers.

or Samuel Goldwyn, when informed a script for a new movie was too caustic, replied “to hell with the cost, we’ll make it anyway”

Then you have mispronounciations- my dad’s friend is a classic, eg: He drinks Macari and Coke (bacardi), he complains about his impressor failing (compressor), and he bought a new imputer (guess). He also complains about the derickle building next door…

I have one coworker, a Phd, who inists on saying bifurcation as ‘bi-furry-cation’, drives me up the wall…

My fault. I meant ‘malapropisms’ for the thread. Thanks An Lú abú, your columbus and goldwyn examples are exactly what I was looking for.

No problem, I used to have a book that was a collection of malapropisms and spoonerisms. Check out the links below for more:

http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Square/1521/9malapropisms.html

http://www.canadianquotations.com/malapropisms.html

Any literature mavens out there? Isn’t Mrs. Malaprop from an old play by Sheridan or Goldsmith, or one of those other old playwriting types?

You could well be right, quiltguy, I only remember the character and the etymology of the name, not the exact origination.

How the hell do you do that? I’m sitting here like a damnfool, repeating to myself “Wen-nes-day–weds-day --wed-neds-day—” and not being able to get it right! Goodness, as an admitted grammar and pronunciation snob* (even towards myself), it really irks me. :slight_smile:

Anyway, on to the topic with some gems I’ve heard:

Corveyor Belt

Menestration

Fella-tee-o for “Fellatio”

My friend once asked a favor of me thusly: “Hey Joe, I gotta propaganda for you.”.

I have heard “expresso” endlessly, as well as nucular, and they both piss me off. Moreover, I heard Tom Green use this pronunciation one evening—I thought you Canadians had the Queen’s English! :wink:

*This post is immunized against Gaudere’s Thing—d’oh!

There you go:

http://www.riverdeep.net/current/2000/07/070700_malaprop.jhtml
Sheridan indeed, from 1775. It seems I made a moustache :slight_smile:

y

:smack:
I was gonna post a :smiley: . I needed the list of smileys so to get to them I usually type a letter then press preview.

But I pressed submit like a fool.

Ma knew exactly what she was saying when she said, “Ooooh, I made a fox’s paw!” and reversed a euphemism, “…and he got doodley twat.”

“It got me so flustrated.”
A Ford Exploder
He had an old Trash-80 computer.
Wimpsical, meaning wimpy
Contract disc
A limping poet, I guess, has versitis.

My computer teacher called * an asterick, so I told her to remember, “I regret that I have but one asterisk for my country.”