Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Formulaic language (previously known as automatic speech or embolalia) is a linguistic term for verbal expressions that are fixed in form, often non-literal in meaning with attitudinal nuances, and closely related to communicative-pragmatic context. [1]
A mondegreen (/ ˈ m ɒ n d ɪ ˌ ɡ r iː n / ⓘ) is a mishearing or misinterpretation of a phrase in a way that gives it a new meaning. [1] Mondegreens are most often created by a person listening to a poem or a song; the listener, being unable to hear a lyric clearly, substitutes words that sound similar and make some kind of sense.
"Excuse my French" appears an 1895 edition of Harper's Weekly, where an American tourist asked about the architecture of Europe says "Palaces be durned! Excuse my French." Excuse my French." [ 3 ] [ 4 ] The phrase "pardon my French" is recorded in the 1930s and may be a result of English-speaking troops returning from the First World War.
The earliest confirmed publication is the 1866 Dion Boucicault play Flying Scud, [2] in which a character knowingly breezes past a difficult situation saying, "Excuse me Mr. Quail, I can't stop; I've got to see a man about a dog." [3] [4] Time magazine observed that the phrase was the play's "claim to fame". [5]
A aggravate – Some have argued that this word should not be used in the sense of "to annoy" or "to oppress", but only to mean "to make worse". According to AHDI, the use of "aggravate" as "annoy" occurs in English as far back as the 17th century. In Latin, from which the word was borrowed, both meanings were used. Sixty-eight percent of AHD4's usage panel approves of its use in "It's the ...
In American jurisprudence, an excuse is a defense to criminal charges that is a distinct from an exculpation. Justification and excuse are different defenses in a criminal case (See Justification and excuse ). [ 1 ]
An interjection is a word or expression that occurs as an utterance on its own and expresses a spontaneous feeling, situation or reaction. [1] [2] It is a diverse category, encompassing many different parts of speech, such as exclamations (ouch!, wow!
Hanlon's razor is an adage or rule of thumb that states: [1]. Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. It is a philosophical razor that suggests a way of eliminating unlikely explanations for human behavior.