play mrs malaprop
Up Next
Title
CANCEL
mrs malaprop
Words at Play

What is a malaprop?

Editor Peter Sokolowski will tell you all the perpendiculars

A malapropism, or malaprop, is the usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase, especially the use of a word sounding somewhat like the one intended but ludicrously wrong in context—like polo bears instead of polar bears.

Up next

play mrs malaprop
What is a malaprop?

 

We'll tell you all the perpendiculars

play merriam-webster eggcorns title page
What Is an Eggcorn?

 

And how did it get that name?

play video title words of the year 1066
Words of the Year: 1066

 

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest

play woman and dog illustration
'Nip it in the butt' or 'Nip it in the bud'?

 

We're gonna stop you right there

play ismo merriam webster tip
Some Odd Words with ISMO: "People Tipping"

 

Comedian ISMO on the complexities of the word 'tip'

play calendar that says day today
Is It 'day today' or 'day-to-day'?

 

What about Day Tomorrow?

play contractions
On Contractions of Multiple Words

 

You all would not have guessed some of these

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
tiny woman sitting on a pile of books reading
Little Words, Big Vocabulary Quiz Time to sweat the small stuff.
See All