One of my son's friends said that he was going to throw something into the carcinerator.

Now, is there a word for this? A malaprop is using the wrong word for the context. A mondegreen refers to the misinterpretation of a series of words.

Or, is this kind of word use called just plain stupidity?

It would be stupidity if the person using the word didn't know how to use words; it would be ignorance if the person knew how to use words but was unaware that the word used was wrong.

It would be creativity if the person using the word was trying to invent a new word for a concept.

Well, that's a tad bit extreme. Infants and those who have certain kinds of aphasia are two kinds of people who do not know how to use words. In neither case is it due to stupidity.

Well, of course this guy was neither aphasic nor an infant. However, Richard is correct; the precise word is "ignorant."

[I had asked a question here once about the word that meant to use the "precise word." I recently found the answer myself...and now I've forgotten again! Anyone know? But, I digress!]

However, is there a word for mangling a word? "Carcinerator" is not a word.

Kalleh, it may not be a word, but if he were referring to his consumption of known carcinogen, it would seem to be a clever and creative made up word. Where else would one metabolize a carcinogen than down one's gullet?

Sounds to me like the name of a TV wrestler. You can just hear the commercials:

"Come see The CARCINERATOR!! He beats you so bad, you get cancer!!!"


(And, yes, I know it should be badly but we're talking about a TV wrestling commercial here.)

I had asked a question here once about the word that meant to use the "precise word." I recently found the answer myself...and now I've forgotten again! Anyone know? But, I digress!

Now I remembered the word I was referring to..."Lethologica - The inability to recall a precise word for something."

Of course this is the inability to recall the precise word, rather than the the ability to find it. But, it is on the right track.

Orthologica, perhaps?