The Quirky Facts
There are many ways to misspeak and misunderstand, and once you have a reputation, it’s hard to know what was truly said and what wasn’t.
Spoonerisms – named after the Reverend William Archibald Spooner, who taught at New College in Oxford in the late 1800s and early 1900s and had a reputation for mixing up mainly the first letters of words, saying things like “It’s kistomary to cuss the bride.” Loads of quotes are falsely attributed to him, and others, like Shel Silverstein have written complete books using Spoonerisms. (
Runny Babbit, a Billy Sook).
Malapropisms – are words that sound similar to what is intended, but have a completely different meaning, such as saying, “Having one spouse is called monotony.” (monogamy) The term stems from the character of Mrs. Malaprop in Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s 1775 play
The Rival. He seems to have named her deliberately after the French phrase,
mal a propos, which means inappropriate.
Mondegreens – A term coined by the American writer Sylvia Wright in a 1954 essay for Harper's Magazine based on lines of poetry she had misunderstood as a child, mondegreens usually refer to mishearing the lyrics of songs such as, “Got a lot of lucky peanuts” (lot of love between us) or “She’s got a tick in her eye.” (ticket to ride)
Other stuff – Yogi Berra and early film producer and motion picture executive Samuel Goldwyn sometimes spoke in malapropisms, but often they simply misspoke in ways that defy categorization. Both sparked imitators who falsely attributed to them phrases like, “Never answer an anonymous letter,” (Berra) and “Anyone who would go to a psychiatrist ought to have his head examined!” (Goldwyn).
The Quirky Observation
Nothing I’ve read about Yogi Berra or Samuel Goldwyn suggests they meant to be funny or to misspeak, and on reflection, some of what they said makes sense. Yogi Berra seemed good natured about his Yogi-isms as evidenced by his 1998 book,
The Yogi Book: I really didn’t say everything I said!
The Question
Have you ever unintentionally misspoken or misinterpreted song lyrics? Share your story with others or with me at
Kathy@WiserNow.com.
Featured Product
I’ve written an exercise on Mondegreens that I am offering free on my website. You can access it here.
https://wisernow.com/freebies/
The Quiz
In the following quiz, I have tried to include only verified quotes from
Yogi Berra and
Samuel Goldwyn (and hope I have succeeded).
Can you tell who said what?
1. If you don't know where you're going, you might not get there.
Berra ___ Goldwyn ___
2. I don't think anybody should write his autobiography until after he's dead.
Berra ___ Goldwyn ___
3. You can observe a lot by watching.
Berra ___ Goldwyn ___
4. A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.
Berra ___ Goldwyn ___
5. I was on the brink of an abscess.
Berra ___ Goldwyn ___
6. My wife’s hands are very beautiful. I’m going to have a bust made of them.
Berra ___ Goldwyn ___
7. Always go to other people's funerals; otherwise they won't go to yours.
Berra ___ Goldwyn ___
8. I had a monumental idea this morning, but I didn’t like it.
Berra ___ Goldwyn ___
9. In this business it’s dog eat dog, and nobody’s going to eat me.
Berra ___ Goldwyn ___
10. If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.
Berra ___ Goldwyn ___
Answers provided at the end of the document.
The Shameless Request
Please share Wiser Now Wednesday with anyone you think might be interested, and if you represent an organization that would like a customized version, send me a note at Kathy@WiserNow.com.
The Resources
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