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Tuesday, June 2, 2026

When words come out wrong

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Sometimes your brain and your mouth don’t cooperate. You know when you want to say a certain word but you get it slightly wrong? Or how about when you hear someone say a phrase and mess it up while you’re just there keeping in your laughter? It seems to be a universal experience for Smile Breakfast listeners:

There’s a word to describe this often hilarious moment we’ve all witnessed. Malapropism is the the mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one, often with an amusing effect.

Getting a word or phrase slightly wrong
An example of malapropism. Credit: Buzzle.com

Lindy seems to fall victim to this quite a bit and admits to having a history of getting her words a bit jumbled:

Read more: Loadshedding and its unusual consequences

You know when someone is angry and they say something that makes you laugh? Bobby found himself in this situation as a youngster and it turns out he was playing with his life. All because of one mispronounced word:

The face you pull when someone is shouting at you and you’re trying your best not to laugh:

Phil de Lange
Phil de Lange
Phil de Lange is the producer of the Ryan O'Connor Breakfast show and has been with Smile 90.4FM since it's inception in 2013. Through his work on the breakfast show he has won two national radio awards. He has been in broadcasting for 15 years and has honed his talent at 6 different radio stations. Outside of radio he is also a podcast producer and award winning stand-up comedian.

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