Word Play for Writers—Marvelous Malaprops

by Lori Hatcher @LoriHatcher2

“You can lead a horse to manure, but you can’t make him drink.”

“We’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.”

Ahhh, the marvelous malaprop – Grammarist.com defines it as “a verbal mistake in which a word is substituted with another word that sounds similar but means something entirely different, often to comedic effect.”

President George W. Bush was so successful at the malaprop that pundits renamed his verbal blunders “Bushisms.” Here are a few of his best:

“We need an energy bill that encourages consumption.”

“I am mindful not only of preserving executive powers for myself, but for my predecessors as well.”

“The word malapropism is taken from a character, Mrs. Malaprop, in a 1775 play called The Rivals, written by Richard Brinsley Sheridan,” Grammarist says. “It is assumed that Sheridan coined the character name from the French phrase, mal à propos, which means inappropriately.”

President Bush wasn’t the only politician to master the art of malaprop. Former Chicago mayor Richard Daley once announced, “The police are not here to create disorder, they’re here to preserve disorder.”

And Vice-president Quayle once commented, “Republicans understand the importance of bondage between a mother and child.”

Malaprops turn up in the most unexpected places. Like this one heard at a church business meeting: “The Finance Chairman and the Head Deacon are diabolically opposed.”

Or this one on a neighborhood crime blotter: “Mr. Washington, of 300 South Maple Street, received a decease and desist order.”

Or this gem, overheard during a conversation between two fifth graders about their teacher: “He was watching me like I was a hawk.”

Some malaprops come about because of ignorance and a poor vocabulary, but others are born through brilliance and mastery of the English language. Unfortunately, it’s sometimes hard to distinguish the two.

Other than making us laugh, malapropos can prove quite useful in our writing. You might have a character, like the original Mrs. Malaprop, who is characterized by verbal blunders and missteps. Sprinkling well-turned malaprops into his or her dialogue can generate laughter and endear your character to your readers. 

Creating your own malaprops can also be a fun and mentally-engaging warm up writing exercise to get your creative juices going. Whether or not you use them in your writing, bending your brain to the task can make your writing flow like water off a duck’s behind.

And that’s nothing to squeeze at.

Now it’s your turn. What’s your favorite malaprop? Or, better yet, make up one of your own. Share it with us in the comments below.

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Word play for writers—marvelous #malaprops - @LoriHatcher2 on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Besides begin fun, #malaprops can prove quite useful in our #writing - @LoriHatcher2 on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)