(This blog was originally written on 7/7/08 on MySpace)
That's a "mondegreen".
Definition: words mistaken for other words, often from misunderstood phrases or lyrics.
Another example is Ramona from those old Beverly Cleary books we read growing up, who wondered what a "dawnzer lee light" was. (She was hearing the national anthem.)
What I'm referring to specifically is this: Mirriam-Webster just completed their annual addition of over 100 words and phrases officially added to the Mirriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary. The specific origins of the "mondegreen" word is from an old Scottish tune where "laid him on the green" over time became thought to be "Lady Mondegreen".
The English language, it is said, is the hardest language to learn. Is it any wonder? It's totally fucked up. But at the same time, it's so fun to play with. I make up words all the time, like "coolassity". And I don't call a knife a "N-eye-F", I call it a "Kin-iff-ee". Those letters are there, dammit, and I have to put them there when I write or type the word, so I'm representing those letters! (Yes, I probably should see a pee-sychiatrist.)
There are other popular musical mondegreens, such as "There's a bathroom on the right" for "There's a bad moon on the right" in the CCR tune "Bad Moon Rising." Remember the Corrs song "Breathless"? It sounds to me like "Don't feed me breakfast" instead of "Don't leave me breathless." And Sophie B. Hawkins throughout the tune "As I Lay Me Down" seems to have her background singers asking "Who wants tacos?"
Probably the most famous mondegreen of all is the Jimi Hendrix line which christens the title of this blog.
So what else has M-W added to the dictionary to fuck with our semantics? "Dirty bomb" and "mental health day" are now in the book. "Edamame", which has become a wildly popular snack. "Air quotes", which if you read this sentence and crank your fingers in the air "right here", would be what those are. "Fanboy". "Malware". "Dwarf planet". "Pescatarian", which is a person who eats only fish. For you alcohol lovers, "sujo" (Korean rice wine) and "prosecco" (dry Italian sparkling wine) now exist. "Supercross" for the motorcycle stunt peeps, "subprime" for number-crunchers, and even "Texas Hold 'Em" for those of us, like myself, who played that game years back when the rest of the internet only knew "poker" as a fireplace tool.
So bust out those new words and phrases in your everyday conversation and impress everyone around you! It should be great fun thinking of all these new sentences you can use while kiteboarding in the nearby infinity pool.
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