Malaprops

Some people call these “malapropisms,” but “malaprop” is a better word. Less pretentious. A malaprop is a word that sounds almost like the word you want. They’re named after a Dickens character, Mrs. Malaprop.

I think he could have said that he plays the violent.

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Here’s the comic:

You know the difference between hard and soft consonants, right?

The problem with the rule is that nouns can so often be turned into verbs…

…so when you’re a verb, this is okay. But you know that, right?

The last post mentioned a type of word that can be tricky—it changes by changing which syllable gets the accent. Here’s another tricky type of word, homonyms. Different spelling, different meaning, but same pronunciation.

Here’s a good example:

Got any favorite homonyms? Feel free to mention them in the comments.

PS—and for good measure, here’s a test. In the box on the right—is that a homonym?

The comic is about a little girl who’s afraid of her grandmother’s big dog…

As you can see, the change in punctuation makes a difference. When you write, think about the punctuation!

Okay, now a test. How should you punctuate the labels?