You searched for: “lapsus linguae
lapsus linguae
Slip of the tongue; from Latin lapsus, a slip; an error; chiefly used in Latin phrases. English pronunciation: LAP suhs LING gwee.
A man makes a bad slip of the tongue or lapsus linguae
Larry, this is Fattie; I mean, Hattie!

This shows that a lapsus linguae can be embarrassing, to say the least. The situation could also be considered a lapsus memoriae or a "lapse of memory".

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There is one more mental lapse, one that involves carelessness in writing: lapsus calami or a slip of the pen. The word calamus was a reed formerly used as a pen.

A lapsus linguae can result from laliophobia or lalophobia

In the world of human relations, a person can suffer from laliophobia (lalophobia); that is, a terror of talking or of stuttering when trying to talk.

An individual's speech difficulty may be aggravated by situations that arise from anxieties or fears of self-consciousness.

Of course, there is also the other condition called, lalomania, a compulsion or abnormal desire to talk excessively. Neither situation is considered desirable in human relations.


See this special presentation about public personalities who have committed various forms of lapsus linguae.

lapsus linguae
Man has an embarrassing  lapsus linguae when introducing an obese lady.

A click on the image will take you to the series of illustrated quizzes which will appear in random order or you may click on this image quiz link.

An embarrassing example of lapsus linguae.


A unit related to: “lapsus linguae
(a slip of the tongue, a mistake in uttering a word, an imprudent word inadvertently spoken; as expressed by public personalities in this series of articles)