Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau caught himself after using an awkward word during a speech about wearing masks to combat the coronavirus pandemic.
"If people want to wear a mask, that is OK. It protects others more than it protects you because it prevents you from breathing or speaking, uh, moistly on them," Trudeau said.
After realizing that he used the word "moistly," Trudeau added, "What a terrible image. But it actually is something that people can do in certain situations."
A journalist for CTV posted a brief clip showing Trudeau's comments.
Moistly is the adverb form of the word moist, which according to Merriam-Webster means "slightly or moderately wet."
Moist is a trigger word for many people. A 2016 scientific study on the subject found that the word reminds people of several other words, many of which are profanities.
"Results of five experiments indicate that about 10-20% of the population is averse to the word 'moist,'" the study's abstract reads.
"Analyses of individual difference measures suggest that word aversion is more prevalent among younger, more educated, and more neurotic people, and is more commonly reported by females than males."
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