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
Pronunciation
/ˈmæ.lə.fə/ (UK)
See all 3 pronunciations
/ˈmæ.lə.fə/ (UK) · /ˈmæl.ə.fɔː/ (UK) · /ˈmæl.ə.foɹ/ (US)

Definition of malaphor

1 sense · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. (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).

Anagrams of malaphor

1 play · all valid Scrabble

Words you can make from malaphor

126 playable · top: AMPHORAL (15 pts)

Best play amphoral 15 points

7-letter words

1 word

6-letter words

4 words

5-letter words

20 words

4-letter words

35 words

3-letter words

47 words

2-letter words

18 words

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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.