Word of the Day: Mondegreen

Mondegreen: [man-de-gren]

Part of speech:  noun

Origin:  English, 1950s

1.  A word or phrase inspired by misheard language

2.  A made-up lyric or line that replaces a song’s real words

Examples used in a sentence:

1.  Singing along with Hendrix, she belted out the mondegreen “Excuse me while I kiss this guy.”

2.  He raps so quickly that his fans know only mondegreens rather than the true words of his songs.

About Mondegreen

The idea of a mondegreen came into the public eye in 2014, when pop superstar Taylor Swift released her number-one hit “Blank Space.”  Infamously, millions of fans heard her utter the phrase “All the lonely Starbucks lovers,” which was actually “Got a long list of ex-lovers.”  Swift, along with the coffee chain in question, poked fun at the mondegreen on Twitter.

Did You Know?

The word mondegreen is actually the result of a mondegreen itself.  It stems from the misinterpretation of an old Scottish ballad lyric, “laid him on the green,” which became “Lady Mondegreen.”