Wardrobe malfunction
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Wardrobe malfunction is an euphemism coined to describe the accidental exposure, because of a defect attributed to an article or articles of clothing, of what would be considered an intimate part or parts of the body of their wearer. Most famously, it was used by singer Justin Timberlake to explain the Super Bowl XXXVIII Halftime controversy, in which the supposed malfunction resulted in the unintentional baring of Janet Jackson's breast.
The Global Language Monitor (http://www.languagemonitor.com) named the phrase as "Hollywood's Top Word or Phrase for Impact on the English language", as a word which had the most influence on the language for the year.
The term has remained popular in part because of the humor associated with its jargonistic and overly technical quality when used as an explanation for the Super Bowl incident, which many believe was actually an intentional publicity stunt.
Another widely reported wardrobe malfunction happened to Tara Reid during a November 2004 photo shoot at P. Diddy's birthday party in New York, when her dress fell, exposing her left breast.
The term has subsequently been used to describe a piece of clothing that stayed on, as for example in 2005 when George W. Bush failed to remove his gloves before shaking hands with Slovak officials.
Suit malfunction is the term used to describe the cape problems which cause the deaths of a few superheroes in the movie The Incredibles.
In 2005, the VH1 program Gameshow Moments Gone Bananas counted down the top 5 gameshow wardrobe malfunctions.
External links
- The Global Language Monitor (http://www.languagemonitor.com)
- Apologetic Jackson says "costume reveal" went awry (http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/02/02/superbowl.jackson/index.html)
- "Wardrobe malfunction" named top phrase (http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/03/12/hollywood.phrase.ap/index.html)