As a child my mom was admonished, through a school child's rhyme sung to the tune of Frère Jacques, to maintain a straight spine. The lyrics as she recalled them:
Perfect posture, perfect posture,
Do not slump, do not slack,
You must grow a pansome, you must grow up pretty,
Do not slump, watch your back.
Um … grow a pansome?
Indeed, grow up handsome!
This was my first exposure to what is referred to as a mondegreen, a misheard lyric or line of poetry for which the brain supplies a substitution, usually one that alters meaning or is nonsensical.
A broader term for misheard words or phrases, also filled in with substitutions but in this case usually applied to those that retain their original meanings, is the term eggcorn. A few examples, substitution on left, original language on right:
eggcorn/acorn,
doggy-dog/dog-eat-dog, and
hare's breath/hair's breadth.
I never tire of such language tom-foolery! I lost myself online today enjoying many belly laughs!
But surely good Mrs. Murphy* shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
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| For All Intensive Porpoises 1.75 x 6" bookmark; acrylic, ink, and collage abstract 2021 |
* Surely goodness and mercy … (Psalm 23:6)
9 comments:
grow a pansome! haaaaaaa! OMG I am snorting my coffee reading this! My head is filled with mondegreens even today...the one that made my family laugh most was hearing me sing "she's my tomato" very confidently, when the actual words in the song, Brick House, were "she's mighty mighty". I still sing it my way. :)
Love "For All Intensive Porpoises". Beyond words.
This was such a fun post to write because mondegreens and eggcorns are so much fun, and we all have our own collection. She's my tomato! Yes!
The bookmark evolved from a start (from at least 2 years ago) that came to a satisfying resolution late last week : )
Haha, thanks for the laughs Dotty :) I just cleaned up my inspiration board, and glanced at your bookmark. (Yes, I confess. I am not reading a book currently.) Always makes me smile :)
Now where ever would I ever learn "mondegreen" or "eggcorns" and lots of other interesting things? Exquisite bookmark, does it have its book companion?
Mondegreens and eggcorns are worth their weight in laughter, I have to say—so whimsically entertaining, and we all have our own little personal collection.
I use Sheila bookmarks regularly : )
Ironically, though I ALWAYS have a book, and usually 2 or 3 simultaneously, in progress, COVID and the addition of hearing aids w/ bluetooth capabilities into my life, have me reading ebooks and listening to audiobooks more than physical books currently … and I miss my physical hand-painted collection of bookmarks!
Carol, so happy to see you here today!
Thanks for your sweet appreciation of my blog posts. The bookmark itself was a gift to my daughter, so we'll have to see what she pairs it with.
Hi Dotty, Never knew that this kind of thing actually had a name! I've looked up what the translation is in Dutch, and I found that it's called a 'Mama Appelsap'. That means something like 'Mama Applejuice'. Here's a small video on Youtube about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2gHgDQhsa4.
Lovely bookmark, by the way ;-)!
:) So nice to hear Dotty.
I need to look into ebooks. LOL. I remember thinking they were just the neatest invention ever. But I have not made use of them in ... many years. Enjoy Dotty!
Love that there is a youtube clip about Dutch mis-heard song lyrics sung by Michael Jackson!
Thanks for your appreciation of the bookmark—as I mentioned in a comment above, it was a long time in the making. I'd pick up the start and not know where to go with it, time and again. Then, suddenly, it came together : )
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