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Chris-Mo's Fun with Language Page |
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Mondegreens - misheard lyrics |
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DEFINITION |
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The term "mondegreen" refers to misheard lyrics. Its origin is from a Scottish folk song, The Bonny Earl of Morray. The original lyrics "Oh, they have slain the Earl of Morray and laid him on the green" were misheard by Sylvia Wright as "Oh, they have slain the Earl of Morray and Lady Mondegreen." |
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EXAMPLES |
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title and artist |
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original lyrics |
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misheard lyrics |
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Purple Haze -Jimi Hendrix |
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'Scuse me, while I kiss this guy... |
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'Scuse me, while I kiss the sky... |
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Spoonerisms - verbal flip-flops |
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BIOGRAPHY |
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Named for Reverend William Archibald Spooner, whose verbal slips were legendary, "spoonerisms" are transpositions of letters or syllables that result in meaningful rhyming substitutes. Though not attributable to Spooner directly, most are familiar with the age-old spoonerism: "Better to have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy." |
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Palindromes - better language through symmetry |
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I have some personal reasons for being interested in palindromes. I often work with DNA sequences in which palindromes can occur. These palindromes (although defined a little differently for double-stranded DNA than for language) are distinctive features recognized by the "pinking shears" of molecular biology, restriction enzymes.
Also, I grew up near the site of a famous palindromic storefront: Yreka Bakery.
I knew a girl in college whose entire name was a palindrome: Terhe Anna Ehret. (Pronounced "Terry"... Terhe, if you're out there... call me!) If I ever have children, I thought that would be neat to give them palindromic names. Then I realized "Yeldarb" is not a very cool name for a boy or a girl.
Finally, a friend of mine was proud of the fact that his phone number was the only sequential palindrome in the area: 345-6543 (I won't tell you the area code to protect his innocence). |
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LIST OF PALINDROMES |
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Latin catch phrases - They said it first |
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Classic quotes:
"Quid rides? De te fabula narrabantur!"
TRANSLATION: Why are you laughing? The joke's on you.
From the Late Night with David Letterman archives:
"Saxis quisquilliisque nos petiverunt!"
TRANSLATION: They pelted us with rocks and garbage!
"Ago et ago et ago vobis liberis, et haec est gratia recipio!"
TRANSLATION: I do and do and do for you kids,
and this is the thanks I get! |
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Oxymora - paradoxes that make sense |
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Traditional examples include "jumbo shrimp" or "military intelligence". But since these require some creative interpretation, I'm interested in collecting original examples...
The only one I can volunteer is "Gentleman Jack" (this is the name for Top Shelf Jack Daniels). When once ordering this at a bar in a bowling alley, the rather rough-looking female patron seated nearby exclaimed "That's an oxymoron!" It took me a while to figure out the logic... basically, anyone who drinks enough Jack is bound NOT to be a gentleman. Good one... you old bag!
(Now if I can think up a mixed drink recipe with Gentleman Jack in it... I can name the cocktail an oxymoron, right?) |
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