Mrs Malaprop
/ˌmɪsɪz ˈmæləprɒp/
/ˌmɪsɪz ˈmæləprɑːp/
- a character in The Rivals, a comic play by Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Mrs Malaprop (from the French mal à propos meaning ‘ inappropriate ’) is the aunt of Lydia Languish, and is noted for the way she confuses words that sound similar, e.g. 'oracular' instead of 'vernacular' and 'epitaph' instead of 'epithet'. Such a wrong use of words is called a malapropism after her.“If I reprehend anything in this world, it is the use of my oracular tongue and a nice derangement of epitaphs.”
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Mrs Malaprop