Is there a term for someone who fails top distinguish one word from another, i.e. "ambidextrous" from "amphibian"?
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So you saw that picture too? :-)– Matt GuttingCommented Jun 10, 2015 at 18:29
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1Is not your question more like: What do you call someone who substitutes one word for a similar but inappropriate word?– DanielCommented Jun 10, 2015 at 19:32
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3 Answers
You might be looking for "malapropist" as a personal form of "malapropism".
Malapropist: a person who regularly makes malapropisms - Collins Dictionary
Malapropism: the use of an incorrect word in place of a word with a similar sound - Wikipedia
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1The original of the word was a person: Mrs. Malaprop in Sheridan's The Rivals. Commented Jun 10, 2015 at 19:32
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From the wikipedia link above, the origin is "... ultimately from the French mal à propos."– KiriCommented Jun 10, 2015 at 20:40
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And what if someone does it on purpose for comedic effect? Is it still considered malapropism?– ZikatoCommented Jun 11, 2015 at 5:58
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I don't think the definition of malapropism specifies whether the word swap must be deliberate or inadvertent, so I assume that either case applies.– KiriCommented Jun 17, 2015 at 2:43
If the substitution is an accidental, and erroneous, substitution of a similar sounding word, such as "pineapple of perfection" instead of "pinnacle of perfection" the error is a "Malapropism", after Mrs. Malaprop, a character in Sheridan's The Rivals. The person who does it would be a "Malapropist".
If the substitution is a transposition of sounds, such as "queer old dean" for "dear old Queen", the error is a "Spoonerism", after Rev. William Spooner, famed for making such errors. The person who does it would be a "Spoonerist", I suppose.
If the substitution is a deliberate substitution of a harmless word in place of an offensive one, such as "expecting" for "pregnant" -- standards for "offensive" used to be very different -- or the omission of the offensive word altogether, the change is a "Bowdlerism", after Thomas Bowdler, a publisher notorious for making such changes. The person who does it would be a "Bowdlerizer".
If the substitution is a deliberate substitution of a similar sounding nonsense word in place of an offensive exclamation, such as "Zounds!" for "God's wounds!", the replacement is a "minced oath". The person who does it might be a "mincer".
answered Jun 11, 2015 at 2:39
If it's a transposition of letters leading to a spoonerism (which are funnier the more inappropriate the result) the speaker spoonerized
