cipher@mmm.UUCP (Andre Guirard) (10/24/86)
> Does anyone out there know of a word, preferably but not necessarily in > English, that means, "accidentally saying what you really mean instead > of what you meant to say?" Thanks to all the people who responded to the above. Numerous people suggested "Freudian slip." This does not exactly express the meaning I had in mind though: "Freudian slip" refers to unintentional revelation of _subconscious_ attitudes. I had not meant to restrict it to that. Also, what I really wanted was a verb form. "I slipped Freudianly when I said that my boss was a goat." Andrew Malton suggests "giveaway," and gives an example of its use from a Monty Python sketch: "Today we'll discuss the position of the Nude in my bed... no! in Art. Art! (Cor, wot a giveaway!)" Another example comes from Eric Nelson. I quote him in part: In Chicago, this was often seen in the statements of Mayor Daley. ... during the riots at the 1968 Democratic Conventions he said (roughly) that "The police are here to maintain disorder." Mike Cherepov suggested "amphiboly" (verb form presumably "amphibolize"). "Amphiboly" is apparently synonymous with "ambiguity." This doesn't say what I wanted. Examples of "giveaway" are not supposed to be ambiguous. In fact, the meaning is usually painfully clear. The speaker may _wish_ it had been ambiguous, later. Nobody made up a word. Tsk tsk. Check for a new challenge of this type in net.puzzle. -- If everyone who someone feels should be | Andre Guirard taken out and shot were, the last two | El la rando de la frenezeco people would have to shoot each other. | ihnp4!mmm!cipher
ix193@sdcc6.ucsd.EDU (Dave Fisher) (10/31/86)
How about mis-lied? As in, "I mis-lied when I tried to convince Helen of my innocence."