Freudian slip
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- noun
- /ˈfrɔɪdiən slɪp/
:
lapsus freudiano
- During the meeting, she accidentally called her boss by her ex-boyfriend's name; it was a classic Freudian slip.
- made a Freudian slip
Like that Freudian slip is so funny because she has the hots for him so bad.
- Like that Freudian slip is so funny because she has the hots for him so bad.
Examples
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I made a Freudian slip yesterday.
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That was a Freudian slip.
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Yeah, it's a Freudian slip, right?
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I believe this to be another Freudian slip.
Blog text (12) -
In what is perhaps a Freudian slip, he mistakes the Defense of Marriage Act with the Defense Against Marriage Act.
Blog text (13) -
Though, either by way of a Freudian slip or poor choice of analogy, he did put a smile on my face.
Blog text (11) -
I call it a Freudian slip; it shows where his true character lies.
Blog text (20) -
Interesting Freudian slip.
Blog text (30) -
Like our Mayor's Freudian slip when he tallied the first vote last night in which he said 4-0 instead of 4-1.
Blog text (26) -
White: Ignatieff's Freudian slip
Academic text (1998)
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is compositional: 'Freudian' refers to Freud's ideas about the unconscious and 'slip' is an accidental mistake, so a learner who knows both constituents can infer it denotes an accidental utterance that reveals subconscious thoughts. The same logic appears in many languages (e.g., French 'lapsus freudien', Spanish 'lapsus freudiano'), supporting a transparent interpretation rather than an idiomatic, unpredictable one.
Etymology
Freudian slip is named after the doctor Sigmund Freud, who believed small mistakes in speech can show a person's 'hidden thoughts'. So a Freudian slip is a spoken error that seems to reveal a 'hidden thought' or feeling.