Date: Fri, 11 Oct 1996 09:01:06 -0700

From: Peter McGraw pmcgraw[AT SYMBOL GOES HERE]CALVIN.LINFIELD.EDU

Subject: Re: Mary, full of grapes



Kat Rose's message reminds me of a book I had as a kid. Titled

"Sillynyms," it was a whole book of what I now realize are Mondegreens -

that is, if you count facetious ones (like "Mairzy doats and dozy doats")

as genuine, as some contributors to this discussion seem to. I can't

remember the author, and the book seems to be long gone. Examples include

a "quote" from a poem (by Hawthorne?):



"....comes a pause in the day's occupations

That is known as the chilled wren's hour."



Others probably don't qualify as mondegreens, since they were too

far-fetched and nonsensical to have any plausibility as genuine

mis-hearings, e.g.:



"She'll be common ground amounting winshield comes."



Some were furnished with elaborate explanations. With others, such as

the latter, none was even attempted.



Peter McGraw

Linfield College

McMinnville, OR