Product Description

A mondegreen is a word or phrase which, when spoken or sung, is misheard as another word or phrase, often resulting in a hilarious outcome. Most people have heard of the famous mondegreen, 'send three-and-fourpence, we're going to a dance', the surprise request of a troop of soldiers who actually said, 'send reinforcements, we're going to advance'. The most common causes of confusion are song lyrics, as puzzled listeners struggle to work out why The Beatles were singing "The girl with colitis goes by" ('The girl with kaleidoscope eyes'), but mondegreens are not only found in songs and poetry, but also in everyday life. For example, the lady who rang the hospital asking for Sir Michael Spears, when, in fact, she was actually enquiring about cervical smears. "Mondegreens" is a side-splittingly funny collection of wonderful and absurd mishearings, put together in an elegant package that is certain to appeal to English language aficionados everywhere.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #57124 in Books
• Published on: 2007-08-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 176 pages

Review
"'Your walrus hurt the one you love' (Connie Francis. 'You Always Hurt The One You Love')"

Synopsis
A mondegreen is a word or phrase which, when spoken or sung, is misheard as another word or phrase, often resulting in a hilarious outcome. Most people have heard of the famous mondegreen, 'send three-and-fourpence, we're going to a dance', the surprise request of a troop of soldiers who actually said, 'send reinforcements, we're going to advance'. The most common causes of confusion are song lyrics, as puzzled listeners struggle to work out why The Beatles were singing "The girl with colitis goes by" ('The girl with kaleidoscope eyes'), but mondegreens are not only found in songs and poetry, but also in everyday life. For example, the lady who rang the hospital asking for Sir Michael Spears, when, in fact, she was actually enquiring about cervical smears. "Mondegreens" is a side-splittingly funny collection of wonderful and absurd mishearings, put together in an elegant package that is certain to appeal to English language aficionados everywhere.

Customer Reviews

YOU DIDN`T HEAR ME RIGHT THE FIRST TIME!
This is the book we`ve all been waiting for especially those lke myself who are hard of hearing - it explains the origins of all those misunderstandings or `mondegreens` which have puzzled us through the ages because we misunderstood or misheard a particular phrase or lyric.`Glady the cross eyed bear` immortalised in the Perishers comic strip is there in all its glory along with many other well known and more obscure phrases, songs and sayings. We are very, very, amused.

Mick Drake author of the comic novel All`s Well at Wellwithoute