ADVERTISEMENT

It all started with a silly picture. On August 1st, 2016, a screenshot of Facebook user Dunta Pickett's post started going viral, in which he shared a photo of his birthday dinner, wishing himself "bone apple tea" instead of "bon appétit".

The phrase became an instant internet classic and after just one month, a subreddit of the same name was born with the purpose of collecting examples of people failing to find the right words to express themselves. Eventually, 'Bone Apple Tea' grew into a 1.2 million-member community, and judging from the amount of fresh content it generates, that number will only get bigger.

So even though we at Bored Panda have already shown you some of our favorite gems we found on the subreddit in our earlier publications here, here, and here, we just had to do a new one. Enjoy!

#1

Takin A Bath

Takin A Bath

Mditty129 Report

Add photo comments
POST
michaellargey avatar
Michael Largey
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But he's on the right track. Bathing will enhance your romantic prospects.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#2

Criminalized Onion

Criminalized Onion

MonkyThrowPoop Report

Add photo comments
POST
staphgirl79 avatar
Mistiekim
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I have a card that lets me get medical onion relish. My state really needs to decriminalize it……

View more commentsArrow down menu

The misuse of a word that has a similar sound to the correct one is officially called a "malapropism." It's surprisingly common, particularly within the extensive English vocabulary, and, as we can see, often occur in everyday speech. But authors will sometimes use a malapropism because of its humorous effect as a literary device.

The term comes from Richard Brinsley Sheridan's 1775 play The Rivals. In it, the character Mrs. Malaprop does exactly that—replaces words with humorous alternatives to produce a laugh. Mrs. Malaprop was likely named after the French phrase "mal à propos," which translates to "incorrectly or poorly placed." In English, the borrowed word is written as "malapropos," meaning "inappropriate or inappropriately."

One synonym for "malapropism" is "dogberry," which also comes from literature, in this case, William Shakespeare. In Much Ado About Nothing, the character Dogberry also frequently utters malapropisms for humor.

#5

Lemonade These Papers

Lemonade These Papers

ExpertAccident Report

ADVERTISEMENT

A more recent popular example comes from the late 1970s, when English comedian Les Dawson took advantage of the popularity of Polaroid's instant cameras which were all the rage at the time.

Dawson had created an alter ego called Cissie who was prone to making silly comments. In a much-loved episode of his show, Cissie refers to "one of those paranoid cameras."

This hilarious bit may well have been inspired by Dawson’s signature comedic device – his piano playing. He was an accomplished musician but would deliberately play the wrong notes in his performances.

#6

A B*tch You Worried

A B*tch You Worried

nomaddd79 Report

#7

He Do Be Coffin Skate-Ing Tho

He Do Be Coffin Skate-Ing Tho

ReintegrationTablet Report

Add photo comments
POST
eddakamphues avatar
Edda Kamphues
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep, all the time! Then take it out for some freestyle parcour. Watch my moves with your coff!

tristandstevens avatar
T5n
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If someone can’t even spell “confiscate “, then they may be on their phone too much in class

pam_falcioni avatar
2WheelTravlr
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Shocking that a teacher actually wished you'd pay attention in class when you are already so well educated. /s

sobenna_kahill avatar
SobyKay
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As a teacher, I coffin skated your phone so you could learn how to language good in my class 😂😂

gracewalsh avatar
El Chip
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Did anyone notice the text at the top that said “ mods made me censor this s**t”?

dk_5 avatar
LapCat
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Brings a whole new meaning to the phrase “SKATE OR DIE”

luyendao avatar
Lu
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Doesn’t seem to be helping this person

rogersmary523 avatar
Mary Rogers
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maybe if you hadn't been on your phone all the you would have learned how to spell.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#9

Mosquito Skeleton Society

Mosquito Skeleton Society

madamplease Report

Sometimes these slips of the tongue have unfortunate effects. A stream of broadcasters have slipped up on national TV and radio over the name of British politician Jeremy Hunt and have replaced his surname with a similar sounding, impolite word.

Linguist Patrycja Strycharczuk explained that this phenomenon may occur as the person is anticipating an upcoming word starting with a similar sound (such as “Conservative Party” or “Culture Secretary”). There is also the fact that a rude word is memorable and may accidentally pop in.

ADVERTISEMENT
#12

‘Currently I’m Into Essential Oil Diffusers And Incest’

‘Currently I’m Into Essential Oil Diffusers And Incest’

reddit.com Report

#13

Organic Butterfly

Organic Butterfly

BlueJay_420 Report

Add photo comments
POST
madamecorcoran avatar
harpling
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's a well-known fact that George Washington was raised entirely without chemical pesticides or GMOs.

View more commentsArrow down menu

As University of Essex linguists Amanda Cole, Connor Youngberg, and Faith Chiu pointed out, what is often referred to as "mispronunciations" or "slips of the tongue" are not just embarrassing mistakes, they can also be language changes in action. In fact, sometimes mispronunciations become so common that they become our normal way of speaking. (In parts of the US, people may be heard to regularly say "perty" as opposed to "pretty".)

A historical example is the word "apron" which actually comes from the Middle English "napron." It derived from the French naperon (small table cloth), but over time, people turned "a napron" into "an apron," resulting in the word we know today.

#14

Someone Needs To Tell Friday We Need Gas

Someone Needs To Tell Friday We Need Gas

GonzoVeritas Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#16

Shelf And Steam

Shelf And Steam

DravenPrime Report

"Speech 'errors' are a great resource for linguists," Cole, Youngberg, and Chiu wrote. "They tell us about how people use and process language. They can also sometimes tell us about how language might change. This poses the question: how many people have to regularly 'mispronounce' a word until we begin to consider that the new pronunciation is just the regular, normal way of saying it?" So maybe 'Bone Apple Tea' is actually a glimpse into our phonetic future!

#18

Gin Knee Pig

Gin Knee Pig

Connorsweeney123 Report

#19

Horrors Cope

Horrors Cope

admiralomelette Report

Add photo comments
POST
madamecorcoran avatar
harpling
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

'They're not going to help you when the crab people come.' Horrors cope sounds about right!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#20

Call The Corner

Call The Corner

scorchedgoat Report

#21

Very Nice Mid Evil Chair

Very Nice Mid Evil Chair

cowsofoblivion Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#24

“She’s Cake” - I Was Toll Define Members Of This Sub Would Enjoy This

“She’s Cake” - I Was Toll Define Members Of This Sub Would Enjoy This

SHRIMPLYtv Report

#25

Calling Flower Taste Like Ribs

Calling Flower Taste Like Ribs

WeakHamburger Report

Add photo comments
POST
staphgirl79 avatar
Mistiekim
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I will look you dead in the eyes and tell you how silly that is. Calling flowers taste like chicken.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#26

Walked Right Pasta Me In Her Linguine!

Walked Right Pasta Me In Her Linguine!

NeitherOstrichNorEmu Report

#31

Portal Potties

Portal Potties

Stalders1 Report

Add photo comments
POST
staphgirl79 avatar
Mistiekim
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Seems like something Rick from Rick and Morty would do. Only use the portals to s**t in other dimensions.

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#36

Super Observant… On Wet Surfaces

Super Observant… On Wet Surfaces

ginger-loving-asian Report

#37

Head Lice For Sale

Head Lice For Sale

lordcupkake Report

Add photo comments
POST
robert-thornburrow avatar
Robert T
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

You just know that there will be somebody just itching to buy those.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#38

May Body, May Rules

May Body, May Rules

DinklBot Report

#39

I Mean, I Assume Haiti Is Hot Too

I Mean, I Assume Haiti Is Hot Too

smeatloaf Report

See Also on Bored Panda
#43

Milk Which Inspires

Milk Which Inspires

danzha Report

Add photo comments
POST
abigor avatar
Cyber Returns
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me: *Sits at desk writing* Milk:*leans over shoulder* You should get that published. It's genius! Me: It's my shopping list. Milk: I like the ending. Me: What, 3 litres of milk?

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#46

Build Board

Build Board

tdzines Report

Add photo comments
POST
sam-ablashi avatar
The other-other David Wong
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I find it offensive that they used the “greater than” symbol to say that tequila is greater than drugs

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#48

If You Incest

If You Incest

teeny_gecko Report

Add photo comments
POST
eyelessonex avatar
Corvus
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What better way to convince someone is a vegan than to make a salad your avatar? :D

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#50

“A Soon”

“A Soon”

Hearthacnut Report

Add photo comments
POST
robert-thornburrow avatar
Robert T
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They say assume makes and a*s of u and me, but in this case it just made and a*s out of you!

View more commentsArrow down menu

Note: this post originally had 73 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.