Question: Do you know what a "mondegreen" is?Answer: We sure do. A "mondegreen" is the mishearing of a song lyric or spoken phrase.
Do you know the old song about "Gladly, the cross-eyed bear"? Were you one of the many schoolchildren who stood up each morning, hand on heart, to pledge allegiance to "the republic for Richard Stans"? Have you pondered the Jimi Hendrix lyrics, "Excuse me while I kiss this guy"? If so, you've been duped by the mondegreen. The correct words are "Gladly The Cross I'd Bear," "the republic for which it stands" and "Excuse me while I kiss the sky."
The term "mondegreen" was coined by a writer named Sylvia Wright in 1954. In a magazine article published that year, she explained how as a child she had misunderstood a lyric from an old folk song, transforming "They have slain the Earl of Murray and laid him on the green" into "They have slain the Earl of Murray and Lady Mondegreen." Years later, she was disappointed to learn that the song was not, after all, a romantic tale of two lovers joined in death. Alas, there was no Lady Mondegreen; the earl had died alone. She lives on, nonetheless, in Wright's coinage.
"Mondegreen" isn't common enough yet to be in most dictionaries, but that may change. It is an appealing word and seems to be growing in popularity, especially now that more and more people are going online, where Web pages devoted to misunderstood lyrics are especially popular. Mondegreens have been discussed in national publications, and one columnist is so fond of the word "mondegreen" that he's launched his own personal crusade to get it noticed. All of which is to say that "mondegreen" may very well find its way onto the pages of dictionaries one of these days.
Till then, remember, the ants are your friends; they're blowing in the wind. Or at least, we think that's what Bob Dylan said.
Question: Where did we get the expression "face the music?"
Answer: "Face the music" is an Americanism. The first written record of its use dates to 1850. Its origins presumably reflect the use of "music" in a figurative sense denoting a welter of unpleasant sounds (as in "the music of clashing swords").
In its early uses, "face the music" sometimes meant facing a dangerous situation, as on a field of battle, but the phrase is now generally used to refer to facing the consequences of one's own actions.
Question: What is the difference between a causeway and a bridge?
Answer: Some causeways are bridges. Typically, a bridge that is long, low, level and crosses water qualifies as a "causeway." Quite frequently, though, a causeway isn't a bridge at all, but an embankment of solid ground traversing a body of water. Both kinds of causeway fit the dictionary definition -- "a raised way across wet ground or water."
The typical "causeway" (or "causeway bridge," as it is sometimes referred to locally) in Texas and Louisiana is a long, low bridge. In fact, what is considered the longest causeway in the world is the 24-mile multispan concrete bridge known as Pontchartrain Causeway that crosses Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana. A "causeway" in Florida seems to invariably be of the raised embankment type (though sometimes with a bridge, such as a drawbridge, at one or both ends).
On the other hand, even a bridge with a name like "O'Regan's Bridge," which connects two of Scotland's Hebrides islands, can end up sometimes being referred to generically as a "causeway" -- especially when it is part of a whole network of long, low bridges and embankments. In fact, the second longest causeway in the world, the King Fahd Causeway that traverses the Arabian Gulf, connecting Saudi Arabia to Bahrain, is actually a 15-mile-long series of five bridges and seven embankments -- one of which is a sizeable island containing customs and immigration facilities, a mosque and a restaurant.
This column was prepared by the editors of Merriam-Webster's "Collegiate Dictionary," Tenth Edition. Send questions to: Merriam-Webster's Wordwatch, P.O. Box 281, 47 Federal St., Springfield, MA 01102. Merriam-Webster Inc. Dist. by Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service