malapropism [M19th] ‘As headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile’ are some of the words of Mrs Malaprop, a character in The Rivals, a comedy by Richard Sheridan produced in 1775. Her most notable characteristic is an aptitude to misapply long words. The play was a great success, and the character clearly memorable, giving English the malapropism. Sheridan had based her name on the earlier term malapropos [M17th] from French mal à propos ‘inappropriate’. See also spoonerism.