malapropism vs malapropos
Definitions
noun
- the unintentional misuse of a word by confusion with one that sounds similar
Examples
a type of slip of the ear in which people mishear a word and mispronounce it, then insist that the malapropism is correct.
Of these, errors in sound, usually called malapropisms, are probably the best known.
The funniest malapropisms and turns of phrase tend to be unintentional bloopers.
Definitions
adjective
- of an inappropriate or incorrectly applied nature
adverb
- at an inconvenient time
Examples
_malapropos_; for instance, she called out, to a little fat, stupid, roly-poly girl, to whom Miss Benson was busy explaining the meaning of the word quadruped,
Next day, thanks to his histrionic powers and his ingratiating address, he was promoted to the rank of "supernumerary captain's servant" -- a "post which," I give his words, "I flatter myself, was created for me alone, and furnished me with opportunities unequalled for a task in which one word malapropos would have been my destruction.
I ought not to lose an opportunity of refuting an absurd story which has been much circulated, and which is repeated exceedingly malapropos under the article of the “Abbé Gedoyn,” upon whom the writer falls foul with great satisfaction, because in his youth he had been a Jesuit; a transient weakness, of which I know he repented all his life.
