March 18, 2002

thip

A new anatomical term coined when the speaker suffered a brain stutter while describing a pain between her thigh and hip area. Just another example of medical science being enriched by metaplastic words. Contributed by: Bette Baysinger

Posted by Tim at 03:28 PM | Comments (0)

platitudes

A malapropism attributed to Former Mayor of Chicago Richard J. Daley who said "Together we must rise to ever higher and higher platitudes." Although an actual word, the new definition implied by the Mayor and the word's apparent construction from the words "plateau" and "altitudes" make it a metaplastic homonym. A possible definition extracted from the Mayor's usage could be "an unattainable metaphorical place that is striven towards by speaking increasingly more trite, unoriginal and insipid remarks". Contributed by: Tony Coppoletta

Posted by Tim at 03:04 PM | Comments (0)

March 12, 2002

and irons

A misuse of the word andiron found on eBay. This metaplastic phrase seems to suggest "supports with ornamented fronts, used to hold wood in a fireplace" with an emphasis both on the superfluous quality and material of same: "I have a fireplace wood holder and irons." Contributed by: junkmail@westcoastcolors.com

Posted by Tim at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)