Omslip

Omslip is a term that has appeared in a small number of online glossaries and linguistic discussions but does not have an established, widely recognized definition in major reference works. As a result, meanings attributed to omslip vary by source and context.

In linguistic and cognitive science discussions, omslip is sometimes described as a form of slip of the tongue or a cognitive slip in which unintended material intrudes into speech or text, producing a partial or blended utterance. In this sense, omslip resembles well-known phenomena such as speech errors, malapropisms, or mondegreens, but is proposed as a distinct label by some authors.

In digital and computational contexts, omslip has been used to describe a failure mode in natural language processing or text-generation systems where the model outputs an earlier fragment of the intended sequence or initiates output before a prompt has fully stabilized, effectively slipping from the expected path of generation.

In literary or stylistic use, a few writers have employed omslip as a rhetorical device to describe sudden digressions or interruptions in narration that reveal the narrator’s thought process or to create a sense of spontaneity.

Because omslip lacks formal definition and has limited attestation, any use of the term should be accompanied by explicit clarification of how the term is being defined in that particular work.