I Misheard That Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Malapropism comes from the word "malapropos" (inappropriately), in turn derived from the French phrase "mal à propos", which literally means poorly placed. Though associated with the character of Mrs Malaprop in Richard Brinsley Sheridan's play "The Rivals" (1775), this kind of speech error is found in earlier works of literature - such as various plays by William Shakespeare - reflecting its common occurrence in real life.

Constable Dogberry, a comic character in Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing", is known for his frequent malapropisms, which have accordingly been given the name of Dogberryisms. Being a policeman, in the above example he meant to say that the watch have APPREHENDED (i.e. arrested) two SUSPICIOUS persons. However, he chose two words with rather different meanings: comprehended means understood, while auspicious means favourable.

The quote by Mrs Malaprop is probably the most famous of the many errors that pepper her speech in Sheridan's play. Here she obviously meant to say PINNACLE (i.e. highest point), but chose instead the similar-sounding pineapple, with humorous effect. Incidentally, pineapples were introduced in Europe a few decades before the play was written.

In Dickens' "Oliver Twist", Mr Bumble is a parish official who oversees the orphanage where the title character is brought up. A greedy, self-important man, Bumble is also given to malapropisms such as the rather hilarious one mentioned here. While a FOUNDLING (the correct word) is an abandoned child that has been found and cared for by somebody, fondling is the act of touching something or somebody in a gentle (and often erotic) way.

Mark Twain's Aunt Sally clearly meant to say PETRIFIED, but instead uttered a word that is not only incorrect in meaning, but also misspelled. The correct spelling of this word, which means rotten, or decayed, would be putrEfied - as the verb to putrefy comes from the Latin verb "putrefacere".

Malapropisms and other speech errors (often referred to as "Stan-isms") are an integral part of British comic actor Stan Laurel's bumbling screen persona. In this quote from "Sons of the Desert" (1933), Stan obviously meant to say nervous BREAKDOWN, but came up instead with shakedown, a word that has multiple meanings - such as a thorough search or an extortion attempt.

The main character of the 1970s sitcom "All in the Family", Archie Bunker (portrayed by Carroll O'Connor) is famous for his malapropisms (nicknamed "Archie-isms") as much as his rather bigoted views. In this quote, he confused INTERIOR with inferior, both of which are originally Latin comparative forms: interior means more on the inside, and inferior means lower.

Not being exactly highly educated, many of the characters in the iconic crime drama series "The Sopranos" are given to speech errors. Here mobster Christopher Moltisanti (portrayed by Michael Imperioli) meant to say DISSENT, but uttered instead the similar-sounding name of a rather unpleasant (and dangerous) medical condition. Both words, however, are formed with negative prefixes ("dys-" and "dis") that are believed to be etymologically related.

Baseball player Lawrence "Yogi" Berra has gone down in history not only for his prowess in the game, but also for his malapropisms and paradoxical statements - known as "Yogi-isms". The votes he mentioned in his statement are, of course, ELECTORAL rather than electrical: the two words, though very similar-sounding, are etymologically unrelated.

Boxer Mike Tyson's statement may have elicited suspicions of possible drug use on his part, as the South American country of Bolivia is well known as a major producer of coca, the plant from which cocaine is extracted. Of course, Tyson meant OBLIVION, a word of Latin origin that refers to the state of being forgotten.

In a 2012 interview with David Letterman, Canadian popstar Justin Bieber was talking about his many tattoos when he uttered this blunder in an attempt to sound well-educated by referencing the SISTINE Chapel and its iconic frescoes by Michelangelo. He might be forgiven, though, as the adjective Sistine (from Pope Sixtus IV) and the numeral sixteenth are both derived from the number six.

Richard J. Daley was mayor of Chicago for 21 years, from 1955 until his death in 1976. A somewhat controversial figure, he was known for his frequent verbal missteps, including a slew of memorable malapropisms - such as the one involving O'Hare Airport. One of the busiest in the world, Chicago's airport is often called the CROSSROADS of the nation rather than its crosswords.

Much has been written and said about the malapropisms and related blunders uttered by Dan Quayle, Vice President to George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush, 43th President of the US. It is to be hoped that mother and child share a BOND rather than bondage, which is a synonym of serfdom or slavery. As to rogue nations and terrorists, they are hostile by definition, but in this case they were holding the nation and its allies HOSTAGE. Though similar-sounding and both of Latin origin, hostile and hostage have different etymologies.

Tony Abbott served as Australia's Prime Minister in 2013-2015. Though not as given to frequent slips of the tongue as other politicians, the gaffe mentioned in this quiz - uttered at a convention of his own Liberal party in 2013 - was enough to cause a stir. While Abbott meant to say REPOSITORY (i.e. a place where something is stored) of all wisdom, his unfortunate choice of the similar-sounding suppository (i.e. a medicated substance administered by introducing into a body passage) set off a slew of snide comments that the Internet has preserved for posterity.