In a talkative world, slips of the tongue are normal and every one of us can think of countless numbers where we have used an inappropriate word when talking to our friends. There is often no consequence except for being the butt of jokes for a short while. Yet when politicians or other public figures do it, it can pass around the world to be enjoyed for years to come. Here is a selection of some of the most famous and amusing examples of tongue slips:

1. Murray Walker

The much-loved former commentator of Formula 1 on British television was famous for muddling up his words and the internet is rife with some of his most amusing howlers. His stock phrase was ‘Unless I’m very much mistaken’¦ and I am very much mistaken!’ due to his often excitable errors of judgement during a race. Amongst his most famous slips was ‘The lead car is absolutely unique, except for the one behind it which is identical.” By this time, the average Formula 1 viewer had become used to what were called ‘Murrayisms’

2. George W. Bush

Poor George ‘Dubya’ Bush was subject to much ridicule during his two-term presidency of the USA, not least of all because of his poor communication skills which included many howlers. He firmly believed that education was at the core of American society and was determined to invest in the school system. In the year 2000 he made a speech in Carolina that emphasised this with the statement ‘Rarely is the question asked: Is our children learning?’ The irony of the statement, it seems, was lost on the President.

3. Barack Obama

Most of George W. Bush’s gaffs have little consequence but for current the President who has prided himself on clarity and eloquence of communication, Obama managed to upset an entire nation in 2012 by referring to ‘Polish Death Camps’; this was at a presentation to award a Presidential Medal of Freedom to a Polish resistance fighter of WWII. Poland was the first country to fall the Nazi Germany and many Concentration Camps were built there in the following years until it was liberated in 1945. Obama later wrote a letter to Poland to express his regret.

4. Reverend William Spooner

A ‘spoonerism’, a term which was named after this man, is a very specific type of slip of the tongue. Often, single letters or syllables are changed between words yet the phrase being spoken still makes linguistic sense, if not making logical sense. For example, he was once believed to have uttered ‘God is a shoving Leopard’ when he meant to say ‘God is a loving shepherd’. Another of his more amusing phrases was when giving a geology lecture he referred to a field of ‘erotic blacks’ when he meant ‘erratic blocks’.

5. John F. Kennedy

Speaking in June 1963, President John F. Kennedy made what to locals was an amusing admission. Certainly there is nothing grammatically wrong with the English translation of ‘Ich bin ein Berliner’ but in German, adding the indefinite article ‘ein’ designated himself as a non-human. In Berlin, a ‘Berliner’ is a type of jam doughnut. This would not have been apparent in much of the German speaking world so it was only to his local audience that this would have been a source of amusement.

6. Kevin Rudd

The Australian Prime Minister has already been a vocal critic of any hint at western involvement in Syria ‘ to his countrymen he referred to this as ‘an election distraction’ and has continued to insist on the importance of working with China and Russia and resisting a military response. In his debate with British Prime Minister about what ought to be the appropriate response following the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime, Rudd referred to chemical weapons as ‘Weapons of Mass Distraction’ before correcting himself.

7. Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton/Windsor

In March 2013 a heavily pregnant Duchess of Cambridge, wife of the second in line to the throne of Britain was handed a teddy bear by an adoring fan. In her thanks she said the words ‘I’ll save that for my d’¦ I mean my baby’. This prompted a media frenzy in which it was presumed that the Duchess would give birth to a daughter and in fact already knew. However, the Duchess eventually gave birth to a son prompting the media to ask whether she was having a little fun or had intended it for somebody else.

8. Britney Spears

Britney got a little confused as to her location in 2009 when performing at a gig in Manchester, England. At the end of the first couple of tracks she called out to the crowd ‘What’s up London?’ perhaps being blissfully unaware that the two cities are approximately 200 miles apart. It wasn’t the first geographical gaffe either. In the same year, she called out ‘What’s up Sacramento?’ when she was performing in San Jose (both cities are in California).

9. Brice Hortefeux

The internet is awash with Freudian slips, spoonerisms and other slips of the tongue right across the internet but there are few in any foreign language ‘ perhaps due to the dominance of English or perhaps the language lends itself better to such mix ups. The biggest one, and one which has become an internet meme across the world, is that of the French Interior Minister referring to fingerprints. But a slip of the tongue meant that what he actually said roughly translated as ‘genital prints’.

10. Carol Kirkwood

The well-known weather girl of BBC Breakfast has made many slips of the tongue in the last few years. During one winter when the country had experienced heavy winds and snow, she referred to ‘today is still going to be busty’¦ gusty’. In another, she referred to the co-anchor as ‘babe’ and in a third she referred to the county of Cumbria as ‘Chestnut’ before correcting herself.

Conclusion

These are some of the most famous and amusing tongue slips from around the world. What is most amusing is that they often come from remarkably similar sources ‘ politicians and newsreaders being the biggest culprits with quite a few commentators as they have got excited about the events happening in front of them.