Catachresis

[Dave Monroe]

A.Word.A.Day
with Anu Garg

catachresis

PRONUNCIATION:
(kat-uh-KREE-sis)

MEANING:
noun: The misuse of words.

ETYMOLOGY:
Here's a catchall word for all those mixed metaphors, malapropisms,
and bushisms. It derives via Latin from Greek katakhresthai (to
misuse).

USAGE:
"Our neighbors to the north aren't spared the disease of catachresis,
either. A Canadian politician displayed this manifestation of the
illness: 'If this thing starts to snowball, it will catch fire right
across the country.'"
Jaime O'Neill; A Verbal Ship Lost in a Sea of Words; San Francisco
Chronicle; Sep 25, 2005.

http://wordsmith.org/words/catachresis.html