MALAPROPISMS XI

The Word's The Thing

Dr. Louis D. Appel 

Identify the malapropism in each sentence and supply the correct word.

 

1. The farm had 400 acres of durable land.

 

2. It's hard to resemble if you're really sincere.

 

3. The two men were arguing bitterly - a real augmentation.

 

4. He enjoys solving riddles and has always had a pension for it.

5. He was concerned with even the smallest details - totally promiscuous.

6. Constantly adjusting his glasses was one of his inconsistencies.

7. This medicine won't hurt you. It's totally ignominious.

8. That cheap, flashy jewelry is bawdy in the extreme.

9. I was frozen with fear - overcome with veneration.

10. It was a congenial sin - one not to trouble his conscience.

 

11. The judge suspended the sentence due to instigating circumstances.

12. Calvin Coolidge was known for his reticence. He was a sardonic man. 

 

Answers:

 

1. durable - arable

2. resmble - dissemble

3. augmentation - altercation

4. pension - penchant

5. promiscuous - meticulous

6. inconsistencies - idiosyncrasies 

7. ignominious - innocuous

8. bawdy - gaudy

9. veneration - trepidation

10. congenial - venial

11. instigating - mitigating

12. sardonic - laconic