A Word Fairy Tale

Here's today's Word Fairy Tale.

Once upon a time, there lay undiscovered in The Land of Quirky Linguistics a treasure trove of tids and bits only the slightly nerdy level of word-interested would appreciate. The wealth of oddities was abundant and heady, but one zany offering outshone the other jewels. The word was "mondegreen", and its meaning was....

Yeah, I don't know, either.

But the blog "the hot word" from Dictionary.com does! Yes, yes I know: I'm a nut for this page. As long-time readers already know, it is one of my favorite indulgences - so much so, in fact, I refer to it as one You Really Ought to Know. Have I mentioned there's so much more than just the word of the day, flashcards for your mobile, or captivating quotes to ponder? Well, now I have. Check out their blog list. And, since you're there anyway, why not pick through their What's New? column where other samplings of The Land of Quirky Linguistics (like words most misspelled, slang most bizarre, and phobias most "feared") reside?

But, for now, sate your curiosity - Whatever. You know you're totally wondering. - with this oddity. There is, in fact, a word "mondegreen." It does, in fact, have a narrow meaning. And, I'd wager a guess, you've committed this little musical foible: I know I have.

Just another example of "Huh. Didn't know that. Not necessarily critical that I didn't know that. But I find I rather like making friends with a little something/someone others folks haven't quite gotten around to meeting yet. It's quirky. And different."

Kind of like reading a Word Fairy Tale.