Malapropism
- “what is a malapropism”
- “malapropism examples”
- “who was mrs malaprop”
- “malapropism vs mondegreen”
01 · Side by side
Side by side
Comparison sheet
| Aspect | Malapropism | Mondegreen |
|---|---|---|
| Error occurs in | The speaker | The listener |
| Produces | A wrong word | A wrong phrase |
| Speaker knows | No | n/a |
| Named after | A character, 1775 | A mishearing, 1954 |
02 · Which one you meant
Which one did you mean?
In shortReaders who land here meaning Malapropism rather than Mondegreen are usually searching for phrases like “what is a malapropism”, “malapropism examples”, “who was mrs malaprop”.
Mondegreen
- “what is a mondegreen”
- “misheard lyrics word”
- “who coined mondegreen”
- “lady mondegreen”
03 · Which came first
Which came first
In shortMalapropism. around 1598–99 — Shakespeare's Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing does the same thing roughly 180 years earlier, which is why 'Dogberryism' exists as an alternative name.
- around 1598–99
Malapropism. Shakespeare's Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing does the same thing roughly 180 years earlier, which is why 'Dogberryism' exists as an alternative name.
- 1954
Mondegreen. Sylvia Wright coins the word in Harper's Magazine, describing how as a child she misheard a line of the ballad 'The Bonny Earl of Murray'.
04 · Read either one