malaphor
Not valid in Scrabble
It's a recognised English word, but it isn't in the official NASPA Scrabble word list.
- Scrabble points
- 15
- Words With Friends
- 17
- Letters
- 8
/ˈmæ.lə.fə/
(UK)
See all 3 pronunciations Show less
/ˈmæ.lə.fə/ (UK) · /ˈmæl.ə.fɔː/ (UK) · /ˈmæl.ə.foɹ/ (US)
Definition of malaphor
1 sense · 1 part of speech · etymology included
noun
-
(rare)An idiom blend: an error in which two similar figures of speech are merged, producing an often nonsensical result.
“What I conclude from this admittedly narrow data base is that, while the malaphor flourishes in bureaucratic compost, it will grow just about anywhere. The following malaphors are my pick of the letters. They were uttered in the home, on the farm, in the street.”
“Among Swift's favorite malaphors are "He's a ragged individualist"; "I was up at the crank of dawn"; and "He's a fly in the oatmeal."”
Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Etymology
Blend of malapropism + metaphor; attributed to Lawrence Harrison in the Washington Post article "Searching for Malaphors" (Aug. 6, 1976).
Words you can make from malaphor
126 playable · top: AMPHORAL (15 pts)
Best play amphoral 15 points7-letter words
1 word6-letter words
4 words5-letter words
20 words4-letter words
35 words- AMAH 9 pts
- HALM 9 pts
- HARM 9 pts
- HARP 9 pts
- HOLM 9 pts
- HOLP 9 pts
- HOMA 9 pts
- OPAH 9 pts
- LAMP 8 pts
- PALM 8 pts
- PRAM 8 pts
- PROM 8 pts
- RAMP 8 pts
- ROMP 8 pts
- HAAR 7 pts
- HALO 7 pts
- HARL 7 pts
- HOAR 7 pts
- HORA 7 pts
- ALMA 6 pts
- LAMA 6 pts
- LARP 6 pts
- LOAM 6 pts
- MAAR 6 pts
- MARA 6 pts
- MARL 6 pts
- MOLA 6 pts
- MORA 6 pts
- OPAL 6 pts
- PARA 6 pts
- PRAO 6 pts
- PROA 6 pts
- ROAM 6 pts
- ALAR 4 pts
- ORAL 4 pts
3-letter words
47 words- HAM 8 pts
- HAP 8 pts
- HOM 8 pts
- HOP 8 pts
- MHO 8 pts
- OHM 8 pts
- PAH 8 pts
- PHO 8 pts
- POH 8 pts
- AMP 7 pts
- MAP 7 pts
- MOP 7 pts
- PAM 7 pts
- POM 7 pts
- AAH 6 pts
- AHA 6 pts
- HAO 6 pts
- LAH 6 pts
- RAH 6 pts
- RHO 6 pts
- ALP 5 pts
- AMA 5 pts
- APO 5 pts
- ARM 5 pts
- LAM 5 pts
- LAP 5 pts
- LOP 5 pts
- MAR 5 pts
- MOA 5 pts
- MOL 5 pts
- MOR 5 pts
- OMA 5 pts
- OPA 5 pts
- PAL 5 pts
- PAR 5 pts
- POL 5 pts
- PRO 5 pts
- RAM 5 pts
- RAP 5 pts
- ROM 5 pts
- AAL 3 pts
- ALA 3 pts
- ARO 3 pts
- LAR 3 pts
- LOR 3 pts
- OAR 3 pts
- ORA 3 pts
2-letter words
18 wordsFind your best play with malaphor
See every word you can make from a set of letters that includes malaphor, or browse word lists you can mine for high-scoring plays.