misspeak

misspeak
   to lie
   Originally, to speak evil or to speak incorrectly.
   One of Richard Nixon's Watergate contributions to linguistics:
    ... do they bar him for his 'misspeakings', or do they just take over and appoint someone else as candidate? {Private Eye, October 1986)

How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. . 2014.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Misspeak — Mis*speak , v. i. To err in speaking. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Misspeak — Mis*speak , v. t. To utter wrongly. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • misspeak — (v.) late 14c., to say amiss, also to speak insultingly, from MIS (Cf. mis ) (1) + SPEAK (Cf. speak). Related: Misspeaking; misspoken. Old English missprecan meant to grumble, murmur …   Etymology dictionary

  • misspeak — [mis spēk′] vt., vi. misspoke, misspoken, misspeaking to speak or say incorrectly …   English World dictionary

  • misspeak — verb (misspoke; misspoken; speaking) Date: 14th century transitive verb 1. to speak (as a word) incorrectly 2. to express (oneself) imperfectly or incorrectly < claims now that he misspoke himself > intransitive verb to speak incorrectly ;… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • misspeak — /mis speek /, v.t., v.i., misspoke, misspoken, misspeaking. 1. to speak, utter, or pronounce incorrectly. 2. to speak inaccurately, inappropriately, or too hastily. [1150 1200; ME misspeken; see MIS 1, SPEAK; cf. OE missprecan to murmur] * * * …   Universalium

  • misspeak — verb /mɪsˈspiːk/ To fail to pronounce, utter, or speak correctly He didnt say you were tired. He said you were fired. He misspoke or you misheard …   Wiktionary

  • misspeak — (New American Roget s College Thesaurus) v. i. make a blunder, trip over one s tongue, put one s foot in one s mouth (inf.). See speech, error …   English dictionary for students

  • misspeak — v. make an error while speaking, speak incorrectly …   English contemporary dictionary

  • misspeak — mis·speak …   English syllables

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