classical malapropism / mishearing

[Arnold Zwicky]

On Jul 20, 2009, at 7:30 AM, Mark Mandel wrote, about "erasable" for
"irascible":

> Sounds like "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (2004, Jim Carrey,
> Kate Winslet). "A couple undergo a procedure to erase each other from
> their memories when their relationship turns sour, but it is only
> through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin
> with."

an entertaining idea, but it strikes me as thoroughly implausible.
note that the reference to having your personality erased comes from a
commenter, joking, not from the original posting:

>  On 13 July, Kenneth Huey found this sentence in the Huffington Post
> in a piece on steroids in sport: "Knowing his erasable personality, Ty
> would most likely be a perfect example of 'roid-rage'." Having your
> personality erased would surely make anybody angry.

arnold

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