What Did They Really Mean?

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. "He is the very pineapple of politeness!" Which is the correct term? Pinafore Pygmalion Pigmy Pinnacle

2. Wes Westrum said about a close baseball game: "Well, that was a cliff-dweller." Which word should he have used? Clip-cutter Cliff-hanger Cave-dweller Cliff-diver

3. "This is unparalysed in the state's history." What is the correct word? unprepared unparalleled unpopular unpleasant

4. "Listen to the blabbing brook." What word should Norm Crosby have used? Bubbling Bobbling Blubbing Babbling

5. Mike Smith, baseball pitcher, said about his new coat: "It got lots of installation in it." Should he have said "insulation" or "insolation"? Answer: (One word - insulation or insolation)

6. Mike Smith also asked for a salad with "lots of neutrons". What did he really want? Croutons Teutons Futons Zileutons

7. Who is credited with this famous malapropism? "We cannot let terrorists and rogue nations hold this nation hostile or hold our allies hostile." John Howard Tony Blair George W. Bush Bill Clinton

8. This is an anonymous example of charting in a nursing home: "Mrs. X is exhibiting bazaar behaviour." What kind of behaviour was the nurse trying to describe? Basilar Bizarre Bezoar Bursar

9. Let's have a Canadian example. Allan Lamport, former mayor of Toronto, said: "Keep this up and we'll have a vicious triangle." What geometric figure should he have used? Square Rhombus Diamond Circle

10. And finally, another original malapropism from Mrs. Malaprop: "Sure, if I reprehend any thing in this world it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs!" What four terms should she have used? instrument, crepuscular, estrangement, epicurs implement, binocular, range, episodes apprehend, vernacular, arrangement, epithets permanent, appendicular, engagement, affidavits