By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
What is a Freudian slip? Well, before we offer a definition, perhaps by way of introduction (or an introduction of sorts), here’s a joke: ‘What’s a Freudian slip? It’s when you say one thing and mean your mother.’
We never said it would be a good joke.
This joke, such as it is, does neatly encapsulate and define the two key features of what is commonly referred to as a Freudian slip: namely that it involves misspeaking and that the error we make reveals – or is said to reveal – some deep, latent desire or motivation on our part.