I just sent my family a group text to see what coined terms they can remember from our childhood. I might have to report back. 😉
Since my mom is Japanese and English is her second language, we’ve faced entertaining communication mishaps over the years! There are a handful of English words we’d always mispronounced because we heard her say them and no one had corrected us till much later in life. My brother thought a calculator was a “carcurator” until he asked his friend in high school if he could borrow one. 🙊
🤣 We're 'divided by a common language', Erika! And I'm pretty glad that I didn't have to draw a polar bear with braces on its teeth rather than over its shoulders!
We use the word 'braces' here for the long-term fixed 'train-track' braces, but generally here if you have a removable brace for your teeth, it's called a brace, singular.
Generally if someone over here tells me 'that person's wearing braces' I'm going to imagine Gordon Gecko's braces rather than the 'Finding Nemo' kid's braces! 🤣
I know - isn't it just hilarious, Punit?! 🤣 I was so delighted to come across such a terrific example to illustrate my post thanks to Stephanie's story in Elizabeth's post! There are such wonderful gems to be found on Substack! 😊
OMG! My whole family line is filled with malajustedpropolisms!
My dad built a “footstool” out of a three tiered circular stack of empty beer cans in the center of upholstered burlap and cotton batting and it was dubbed his “Poofy” for putting up his feet when watching the nightly news on our black n white TV. And to use your malaprop—“Godfrey help us” if any one of us kids uttered a peep during that time!
And then I was reminded of 45 years ago, after visiting an area in Richmond VA. My then husband was telling my five year old son all about the “Civil War” and what had happened on the grounds there where we’d just left. When he’d finished the story, my son asked, “Well then, when was the “Gold War”?
As always, thank you for my Saturday morning El-O-El’s!
Gail, you WIN this comments thread hands-down with your neologism 'maladjustedpropolisms'! 🙌 AWESOME work, friend! 🙌
Wow to your dad for his sense of invention - Poofy sounds like a work of art! And I hear you about not uttering a peep - we had to pipe down whenever the weather forecast was on! Well, the news too, now I think about it.
Oh, gosh, Rebecca. I'm honored that you've featured Chicken Scratch so prominently in this essay. Thank you, sincerely, for that. The Godfrey can / God freakin' story lives on (hat tip, Stephanie)!
I'm grinning broadly at your examples and am prompted to recall many from my family's history. Among my favorites:
The time my younger daughter plopped herself down on my feet, which, coincidentally, were resting on a hassock (our term for a fabric-covered footstool that does not have storage). She got a funny look on her face, wriggled her little body around a bit, then said, "Mom...your feet...are in...my vicinity." 🤔 😬 🤣
And the time an acquaintance described someone who was in poor health after a motorcycle accident, saying, "The guy was totally emancipated!"
🤔 😬 🤣
I'm interested to learn, as a result of your post, that Bald and Bear are used interchangeably in the title of that Mussorgsky's piece. I learned only the former!
So much fun here. I just can't stop smiling. Let's propose an International Malapropologism Day!
Firstly, it was such a pleasure, Elizabeth - thank you from me for allowing me to use those parts of your post!
I love your 'vicinity' and 'emancipated' malapropisms!
It's funny: I'd only ever know that scary chunk of Mussorgsky as 'bare' (or 'bear!') mountain, but when I was hunting around for it on YouTube almost every single clip was labelled 'Night on Bald Mountain', as you've always known it. I was very relieved once I'd found a clip with the name that I was familiar with, otherwise it wouldn't've made any sense to include that little story in this post - phew!
So charming, Rebecca! As a linguist, I loved your topic of malapropologisms, and most especially those originating in a child's speech. What were 'elements' at your home, were called elfa-nuts in ours. I remember going through the colorful picture books of animals quizzing my little boy on animal names. I hadn't thought of that in so long. And, as a toddler, his favorite dinner ( being Italian) was basketti. Thank you for a lovely morning's read.
Elfa-nuts! That's gorgeous, Sharron! I gather when we were small only one of us called them 'elements' - to the other, at least to start with, they were 'entants'!
BASKETTI!!!!!!!!! I can't WAIT for the next time we have pasta - there's going to be a renaming ceremony in your honour!
On bemoaning the fact that a box of chocolates which had been opened was now empty, my friend remarked that she couldn’t stop herself eating them all as eating chocolate was compulsory (compulsive)!
We call footstools hassocks if they are upholstered. Ottoman seems “new-fangled” to me.
I’m fond of inventing my own words and my partner used to tease me about them by demanding to know if they were in the dictionary. On one occasion he ostentatiously used a very silly neologism to lure me into asking about the dictionary, at which point he told me to go look-- he had written his word on a post-it note and stuck it to the appropriate page!
'Hassocks' - that's so interesting - that's a word I've only ever seen in the context of the kneelers in a church. Makes perfect sense, though. I'd never come across 'ottoman' meaning 'footstool' until relatively recently, but over here I've only ever seen or heard the word in the context of a chest at the end of a bed (generally in a stately home or posh hotel - it's not really an 'everyday' piece of furniture in the way that a footstool or a pouffe might be considered to be.
I LOVE what your partner did with his pranky post-it note - that's soooooooo gorgeous! 🤣
I remember hopsital in lieu of hospital, and gillies for gullies. I’m sure there were countless others. Every family has its own language. A lovely read. Thanks so much.
And there will forever be lellow instead of yellow from my five year old grandson. It's now in our family lexicon.
Yes. It is lello for us too.
Nice to be in such good company! Lellow in our house as well, even though my youngest is 12 now 🤣
We had lellow also!
That's so cute, Prue! 😆 I remember your gorgeous post about lellow last spring - I'm going to post it here for other readers of this comments thread:
https://pruebatten.substack.com/p/lellow
That's really kind, Rebecca. Thank you.
I just sent my family a group text to see what coined terms they can remember from our childhood. I might have to report back. 😉
Since my mom is Japanese and English is her second language, we’ve faced entertaining communication mishaps over the years! There are a handful of English words we’d always mispronounced because we heard her say them and no one had corrected us till much later in life. My brother thought a calculator was a “carcurator” until he asked his friend in high school if he could borrow one. 🙊
Oh, how lovely - it'd be great to read what they come back with!
'Carcurator' - that's wonderful! 🤣
Oh! And I fully expected to see a bear wearing braces as I know them—with metal in its teeth! 🦷
🤣 We're 'divided by a common language', Erika! And I'm pretty glad that I didn't have to draw a polar bear with braces on its teeth rather than over its shoulders!
We use the word 'braces' here for the long-term fixed 'train-track' braces, but generally here if you have a removable brace for your teeth, it's called a brace, singular.
Generally if someone over here tells me 'that person's wearing braces' I'm going to imagine Gordon Gecko's braces rather than the 'Finding Nemo' kid's braces! 🤣
Finding Nemo braces 🤣🤣🤣
Yup!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBd40bbB4nE
I had a brace when I was 12-ish, and I'm very grateful that it was rather less of an encumbrance than this one!
I thought the same when I read "braces" 😁
"Godfrey can help you" 😂😂
I know - isn't it just hilarious, Punit?! 🤣 I was so delighted to come across such a terrific example to illustrate my post thanks to Stephanie's story in Elizabeth's post! There are such wonderful gems to be found on Substack! 😊
OMG! My whole family line is filled with malajustedpropolisms!
My dad built a “footstool” out of a three tiered circular stack of empty beer cans in the center of upholstered burlap and cotton batting and it was dubbed his “Poofy” for putting up his feet when watching the nightly news on our black n white TV. And to use your malaprop—“Godfrey help us” if any one of us kids uttered a peep during that time!
And then I was reminded of 45 years ago, after visiting an area in Richmond VA. My then husband was telling my five year old son all about the “Civil War” and what had happened on the grounds there where we’d just left. When he’d finished the story, my son asked, “Well then, when was the “Gold War”?
As always, thank you for my Saturday morning El-O-El’s!
Gail, you WIN this comments thread hands-down with your neologism 'maladjustedpropolisms'! 🙌 AWESOME work, friend! 🙌
Wow to your dad for his sense of invention - Poofy sounds like a work of art! And I hear you about not uttering a peep - we had to pipe down whenever the weather forecast was on! Well, the news too, now I think about it.
'Gold War'! Adorable! 🥰
-- Rebecca, your writing is light and fluid. A great Saturday read. Xo.
It's really kind of you to say so, Thaissa - I really appreciate it! Thank you! ☺️
Oh, gosh, Rebecca. I'm honored that you've featured Chicken Scratch so prominently in this essay. Thank you, sincerely, for that. The Godfrey can / God freakin' story lives on (hat tip, Stephanie)!
I'm grinning broadly at your examples and am prompted to recall many from my family's history. Among my favorites:
The time my younger daughter plopped herself down on my feet, which, coincidentally, were resting on a hassock (our term for a fabric-covered footstool that does not have storage). She got a funny look on her face, wriggled her little body around a bit, then said, "Mom...your feet...are in...my vicinity." 🤔 😬 🤣
And the time an acquaintance described someone who was in poor health after a motorcycle accident, saying, "The guy was totally emancipated!"
🤔 😬 🤣
I'm interested to learn, as a result of your post, that Bald and Bear are used interchangeably in the title of that Mussorgsky's piece. I learned only the former!
So much fun here. I just can't stop smiling. Let's propose an International Malapropologism Day!
Firstly, it was such a pleasure, Elizabeth - thank you from me for allowing me to use those parts of your post!
I love your 'vicinity' and 'emancipated' malapropisms!
It's funny: I'd only ever know that scary chunk of Mussorgsky as 'bare' (or 'bear!') mountain, but when I was hunting around for it on YouTube almost every single clip was labelled 'Night on Bald Mountain', as you've always known it. I was very relieved once I'd found a clip with the name that I was familiar with, otherwise it wouldn't've made any sense to include that little story in this post - phew!
That said, your bear in braces has left a lasting impression. A dapper bear, with shiny-bright teeth!
🤣 Thank you!!!
A fun read and great word play!
Thanks, Amy! 😊
So charming, Rebecca! As a linguist, I loved your topic of malapropologisms, and most especially those originating in a child's speech. What were 'elements' at your home, were called elfa-nuts in ours. I remember going through the colorful picture books of animals quizzing my little boy on animal names. I hadn't thought of that in so long. And, as a toddler, his favorite dinner ( being Italian) was basketti. Thank you for a lovely morning's read.
We have basketti as well.
...and in your honour, Prue! (see above!) xxx
Aha!
Elfa-nuts! That's gorgeous, Sharron! I gather when we were small only one of us called them 'elements' - to the other, at least to start with, they were 'entants'!
BASKETTI!!!!!!!!! I can't WAIT for the next time we have pasta - there's going to be a renaming ceremony in your honour!
Gosh!
This was such a delightful newsletter!! I thank you heartily for mentioning my work within it but that aside- I totally love the word play!!!!! 💚💚💚💚
When I was a kid I asked a very uptight person in church why they sang about the "constipated cross-eyed bear" and boy was I in deep trouble... 😁🤣🤣
And thank you again!!!
Thanks so much, Sue! 😘 And it's my pleasure. 💚
YOU were in deep trouble? Well, that constipated cross-eyed bear had significant trouble of its own.....! 🤣
🤣🤣🤣🤣😘💚💚💚💚
When I was little, I received Christmas presents from "Sandy Claus."
Oh Deborah, that's absolutely adorable! 🥰
On bemoaning the fact that a box of chocolates which had been opened was now empty, my friend remarked that she couldn’t stop herself eating them all as eating chocolate was compulsory (compulsive)!
🤣 YES!!!! Eating chocolate IS compulsory! 🤣
We call footstools hassocks if they are upholstered. Ottoman seems “new-fangled” to me.
I’m fond of inventing my own words and my partner used to tease me about them by demanding to know if they were in the dictionary. On one occasion he ostentatiously used a very silly neologism to lure me into asking about the dictionary, at which point he told me to go look-- he had written his word on a post-it note and stuck it to the appropriate page!
'Hassocks' - that's so interesting - that's a word I've only ever seen in the context of the kneelers in a church. Makes perfect sense, though. I'd never come across 'ottoman' meaning 'footstool' until relatively recently, but over here I've only ever seen or heard the word in the context of a chest at the end of a bed (generally in a stately home or posh hotel - it's not really an 'everyday' piece of furniture in the way that a footstool or a pouffe might be considered to be.
I LOVE what your partner did with his pranky post-it note - that's soooooooo gorgeous! 🤣
Was just discussing neologisms with my students this week! So I especially love this!
Oh wow, such perfect timing! Thanks, Jillian! 😊
I remember hopsital in lieu of hospital, and gillies for gullies. I’m sure there were countless others. Every family has its own language. A lovely read. Thanks so much.
'Hopsital's a good 'un, Beth! We call it 'hostipal'! Thank you so much for reading! 😘
Love malapropologisms. Hehe. They do make for great comedy. When my daughter was 7 and had swollen glands she told the doctor her "glances" hurt. 🥰
Oh, that's so lovely, Carissa!!! 😊🤭