mondegreen

American  

[mon-di-green] / ˈmɒn dɪˌgrin /

noun

1. a word or phrase resulting from a mishearing of another word or phrase, especially in a song or poem.

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mondegreen British  

/ ˈmɒndɪˌɡriːn /

noun

1. a word or phrase that is misinterpreted as another word or phrase, usually with an amusing result

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Etymology

Origin of mondegreen

Coined by Sylvia Wright, U.S. writer, in 1954; from the line laid him on the green, interpreted as Lady Mondegreen, in a Scottish ballad

Example Sentences

Purple Mountains even took their name from a mondegreen of the lyrics to America the Beautiful.

From The Guardian • Aug. 8, 2019

“Spitting image” was once a mondegreen, a mishearing and improper syllabic split of “spit and image.”

From The New Yorker • Dec. 10, 2014

This process of near-homophony has many wonderfully named literary variants, from mondegreen to malapropism, earslip and mumpsimus.

From The Guardian • Sep. 23, 2014

Not to get all wonky, but the song isn't really a mondegreen.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 11, 2013

The title of the new Rebus novel, Standing in Another Man's Grave, is what Rankin calls a "mondegreen" - a misheard song lyric.

From BBC • Nov. 6, 2012