Speech Errors
Mayor Menino is known for his distinctive voice, thick Boston accent and speech errors, some of which are malapropisms. The examples here also include substitution, deletion, and addition or epenthesis, which means whole words are used in place of the intended word, portions of a word are eliminated, or portions of a word are added into the intended word, respectively. As a result of these various errors, some commentators (such as conservative radio show host and author Howie Carr) refer to the mayor as "Mumbles Menino" or "Mayor Mumbles". A typical example of one of his speech errors involves a reference to Boston's parking shortage as "an Alcatraz around my neck" (meaning, instead, an albatross around his neck), which is a substitution error. He also once referred to former mayor John F. Collins as "a man of great statue" rather than stature. On a public service announcement about prostate cancer, Menino said, "Together, we can defeat prostrate (sic) cancer." At least one website has been developed to document Menino's verbal gaffes.
During the 2004 Major League Baseball playoffs, Mayor Menino was at a Boston Red Sox rally when he said, “Much like a cookie, I predict the Yankee dynasty will crumble and the results will be delicious for Red Sox fans." During the 2004 presidential race, Menino was asked if he would run for John Kerry's Senate seat should the Senator win, and responded "I will not be candidation nor I'll seek, but I'll accept a draft.".
During a ceremony honoring Boston Bruins hockey legend Bobby Orr, Menino mentioned a number of "ionic" Boston sports figures, including "Varitek splitting the uprights." Jason Varitek was a member of baseball's Red Sox; Menino probably had Varitek confused with Adam Vinatieri, the New England Patriots football kicker known for game winning kicks in Super Bowls XXXVI and XXXVIII. Also, at a dedication ceremony at the Tobin Community Center in 2010 when the Boston Celtics were in the NBA Finals, he mispronounced NBA Commissioner David Stern's name as "Donald Sterns." Menino congratulated the 2011 Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins, an ice hockey team, as "great ball players on the ice and great ball players off the ice."
In January 2012 when discussing the Patriots during the 2011-12 NFL Playoffs, Menino referred to wide receiver Wes Welker as "Wes Weckler" and tight end Rob Gronkowski as "Grabowski." During the NBA playoffs the same year, when talking about Kevin Garnett ("KG") and Rajon Rondo of the Celtics and their run in the championship series, he said, "There’s a lot of heart on this team, let me just tell you, K.J. is a great ... but Hondo's really the inspiration. I mean Hondo drives that team."
On January 16, 2013, Menino was on the phone with Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake discussing the upcoming AFC Championship Game pitting the Patriots against the Ravens. In the conversation, Menino mistakenly called Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork "Wilcock," despite having been wearing Wilfork's jersey at the time. In the same conversation, Menino mistakenly referred to the injured Rob "Gronk" Gronkowski as "Gonk:" "We have it all. (Aaron) Hernandez is going to do a great job. He'll step in for Gonk because Gonk's hurt."
Read more about this topic: Thomas Menino
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