Einsteinian slip /ˈaɪn staɪn.i.ən ˈslɪp/ noun

1. A humorous slip of the tongue that occurs when trying to display one’s erudition by using an academic term or term of art resulting in the exact opposite of the desired effect. Similar to a malapropism, but easier to pronounce (making the utterance of an Einsteinian slip less likely). He would have gotten that research post if it hadn’t been for that unfortunate Einsteinian slip in front of the head of department.

Origin: Invented by a person who meant to say Freudian slip.

Related terms: malapropism, eggcorn, spoonerism, mondegreen, soramimi

[tags]word, of, the, week, einstein, einsteinian, slip[/tags]