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The comically incorrect use of a word in place of one that sounds similar but has a completely different meaning. Named after Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1775 play The Rivals, who consistently mangles language. Examples: “She is the very pineapple of politeness” (pinnacle); “He is as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile” (alligator). Shakespeare’s Bottom (A Midsummer Night’s Dream) and Dogberry (Much Ado About Nothing) are earlier comic practitioners.

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