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 alt-5db61f2bd1cc5
How Do You Pronounce 'Groceries'?

 

Is there one standard way?

play video title attorney generals
Is It 'Attorney Generals' Or 'Attorneys General'?

 

'Poets laureate'? 'Court-martials'? The curious history of postpositive adjectives in English.

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

 

We're gonna stop you right there

play backward index mystery
The True Story of the Backward Index

 

These people needed a computer

play video cynic
The History of 'Cynic'

 

How an ancient philosophical movement devoted to the pursuit of virtue came to describe eye-rolling criticism.

play how to use a dictionary
How to Use a Dictionary

 

The best way to find information in the dictionary

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
girl-playing-trumpet
Sound Check: A Musical Word Quiz Tune-up your vocabulary
See All