Merriam-Webster Adds New Words
The Merriam-Webster dictionary has added new words again. Some are the typical suspects, which are technology and internet-related. Another is "pescatarian," meaning a vegetarian who eats fish. My favorite, however, is mondegreen:
In a category of its own, it describes words mistaken for other words. A mondegreen most often comes from misunderstood phrases or lyrics.
It comes from an old Scottish ballad in which the lyric "laid him on the green" has been confused over time with "Lady Mondegreen."
Among the best-known modern examples: "There's a bathroom on the right" in place of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "There's a bad moon on the rise" and "'Scuse me, while I kiss this guy" in place of "kiss the sky" in the 1967 Jimi Hendrix classic "Purple Haze."
Even Sokolowski, a word expert by trade, has a favorite mondegreen: "Lucy in the sky with diamonds," as sung by the Beatles in 1967, made obvious sense to the preteen Peanuts comic fan as "Lucy in the sky with Linus."
Yeah that word was much needed.
Paul Ibrahim
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