Going to Hell in a Hen Basket: An Illustrated Dictionary of Modern Malapropisms

by Robert Alden Rubin

Malapropism - A word or phrase that has been mistaken for another, usually because of its sound rather than its meaning.Everyone has made the mistake of using a word or phrase that they think sounds correct, but in fact is not. Malapropisms make some sense. They have a semantic logic to them, even if that logic makes perfect nonsense. In Going to Hell in a Hen Basket, author Robert Alden Rubin delights in the creative misuse of words and celebrates the verbal and textual flubs that ignore the conventions of proper English.Culled from blogs, the deepest corners of the internet, as well as some of the most esteemed publications, here is a collection of classic malapropisms paired with hilarious illustrations. Some examples · adieu, without further - Conflation of bidding adieu (saying goodbye) with ado (complicated doings, ceremony) to mean "without saying anything more."· feeble position - An unborn child in a fetal position seems weak and helpless, which explains the confusion here. The two words also share some sexist cultural and literary associations. Feeble (weak) originates from a Latin word for something to be wept over; fetal (relating to a fetus) originates from the same preliterate Indo-European word that gives us female. · hone in on - Confuses expressions such as finely honed with home in on or zero in on (focus on, locate) and sometimes with horn in on (intrude upon). Homing, as pigeons perform it, often involves flying in narrowing circles until the target is reached. Hone means to sharpen; the malapropism conveys the sense of a carefully sharpened instrument and sometimes cutting in. Perfect for bookworms and wordsmiths, the point here isn't to shame the malapropagandists, but to delight in the twists and turns writers put our language through and to amuse and inform those of us who care about words.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Language, Humor

225 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 4, 2015

About the author

Robert Alden Rubin was born in 1958, in Roanoke, Virginia, and grew up in Chapel Hill. His education includes a B.A. in Studio Art from Kenyon College, an M.A. in Creative Writing from Hollins University, and a Ph.D in English Literature from UNC-Chapel Hill. He has worked as editor of Carolina Quarterly and as senior editor at Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill. Professionally, he’s been a journalist, editor, and writing teacher at The George Washington University, UNC-Chapel Hill, and Meredith College. Published creative work by him includes two edited anthologies of poetry (Poetry Out Loud [1993] and Love Poetry Out Loud [2006]), a book of literary nonfiction (On the Beaten Path: An Appalachian Pilgrimage [2000]), and a smattering of poetry in literary magazines. He won the 2015 Allen Tate Poetry Prize from Sewanee Review. He presently works as a freelance writer/editor, and lives in Fuquay-Varina, NC, where he serves on the vestry of Trinity Episcopal Church.

Reviews

[Laurla2]

--paged thru, didnt read it all, but smiled a lot.

"describing how language IS used rather than prescribing how it SHOULD be used."
author Robert Alden Rubin delights in the creative misuse of words and celebrates the verbal and textual flubs that ignore the conventions of proper English. Culled from blogs, the deepest corners of the internet, as well as some of the most esteemed publications, here is a collection of classic malapropisms paired with hilarious illustrations.
Malapropism - A word or phrase that has been mistaken for another, usually because of its sound rather than its meaning. Malapropisms make some sense. They have a semantic logic to them, even if that logic makes perfect nonsense.
Some examples include:
"-adieu, without further - Conflation of bidding adieu (saying goodbye) with ado (complicated doings, ceremony) to mean "without saying anything more."
-feeble position - An unborn child in a fetal position seems weak and helpless, which explains the confusion here. The two words also share some sexist cultural and literary associations. Feeble (weak) originates from a Latin word; fetal (relating to a fetus) originates from the same preliterate Indo-European word.
-hone in on - Confuses expressions such as finely honed with home in on or zero in on (focus on, locate) and sometimes with horn in on (intrude upon). Homing, as pigeons perform it, often involves flying in narrowing circles until the target is reached. Hone means to sharpen; the malapropism conveys the sense of a carefully sharpened instrument and sometimes cutting in."
Perfect for bookworms and wordsmiths, the point here isn't to shame the malapropagandists, but to delight in the twists and turns writers put our language through and to amuse and inform those of us who care about words.

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was great! I never thought I'd sit and literally read a Dictionary, but it is what I just did. The inclusion of cartoons that showcase the Malapropisms was GENIUS. There is a LOT of information in each entry. I learned that I use quite a few of these and I found so many that I didn't know anyone could use. I do think that some were innocent spelling errors that still created a functioning malapropism (the Kindle edition had links to each of the examples of usage and it would take you right to the source so that you could make a judgment for yourself how the original author intended the word) Look at me reading Non-fiction!

[Cathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love books about language, and this was a fun one. I enjoy malapropisms, and there were some great ones in this collection. Some of these were just spelling errors and other little mistakes, and some were flat-out confusions, often very funny ones. Unfortunately, I could have done without the illustrations in this book; they were way too silly and distracting. I think the illustrator was trying too hard, and I'd have preferred just the written word.

[victor harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun zany trip into the world of language gaffes.

[James Schisler · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pleasant enough collection of word abuse, filled with sharp, dry wit from the author.

[Elliot Chalom · Rating 1 out of 5]

I skimmed through it fast until just putting it away. DNF is an understatement. I don’t understand why people found this book humorous. The concept is very funny. The execution is not good. Snooze.

[Roger Rosenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read. I collect mixed metaphors so it as especially enjoyable.

[Mugren Ohaly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was confusing. I couldn't always figure out what was the malapropism and what was the correct usage.

[UChicagoLaw]

I’m having fun with Going to Hell in a Hen Basket, by Robert Alden Rubin. Words are a lawyer’s stock in trade. Most of that trade is deadly serious, so it is enjoyable to see what happens when words go wrong. This book is about eggcorns and malapropisms—for example, “going to hell in a hen basket” when the writer probably meant “going to hell in a hand basket.” Malapropisms don’t make any sense. Eggcorns do, or might if circumstances were a little different. “Hailed into court” is an eggcorn, since one might get to court by taxi, though the writer probably meant “haled into court” and didn’t know the difference between the old “hale” and the modern “hail.” Here’s a quotation from the book, with the example from a newspaper article: “Haphazard means subject to hap (chance) and hazard (risk), as in a roll of the dice or without any real plan. The eggcorn version confuses it with phrases such as half-assed or half-cocked, conveying the same sense of unpreparedness. “Kentucky’s taxing, spending and borrowing policies are half-hazard, at best.” The book has hundreds more examples, most of them amusing and all of them warnings about the need for care when writing. —Frank Easterbrook

[Anne, Unfinished Woman · Rating 3 out of 5]

First Edition, 2015, Flatiron Books, cloth
amazon:
malapropisms, words, phrases, misuse of words, verbal/textual flubs

[Kerry Christian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can sum up this book in four words: You're doing it wrong.

[Johanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

so entertaining i did not realize i had gotten on the wrong bus; so slight when i got off could not remember whether i had been reading a book at all.

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eggcorns! Cognates! Word Play! Linguistics! What a silly little thing.