mondegreen

[MON-dee-green]
Phonetic (Standard) IPA: (Serving up bitter beer)

Popcast Phonetic: “MON-dee-GREEN” — say it like someone confidently singing lyrics only to realize they’ve been hilariously wrong the whole time.

Noun

a misheard word or phrase that gives it a new (often funnier) meaning — usually from lyrics, poems, or sayings we thought we knew so well, like the butcher down the street.

EXPLANATION

A mondegreen happens when you confidently belt out a song lyric like “Hold me closer, Tony Danza” instead of “Hold me closer, tiny dancer” — and honestly, sometimes the mondegreen version is way better. It’s the happy accident of hearing one thing when another was meant, turning language bloopers into cultural legends, karaoke moments, and snack-fueled arguments at movie night.

ORIGIN

The term mondegreen was coined in the 1950s by writer Sylvia Wright, inspired by a misheard line in a Scottish ballad. Instead of hearing “laid him on the green,” she heard “Lady Mondegreen” — and that glorious misunderstanding never left us. This phenomenon is often due to a malfunction of human ear, often tied to gossip and hear say, often followed by “I thought you said”.

EXAMPLE

She insisted the lyric was “Sweet dreams are made of cheese,” a mondegreen that made every pizza playlist instantly better without the calories or cholesterol.

HOW TO USE

Use mondegreen when someone confidently insists they’ve always heard something one way — like “I bless the rains down in Africa” turning into “I bless the grains down in Africa” — and you just know they are dead wrong but also accidentally hilarious.