Have you ever washed down a plate of edamame with some prosecco while lounging in your infinity pool with a few pescatarian friends after a long day at the racino rubbing elbows with wing nuts?
The above sentence was taken from Merriam-Webster Online, but even if you’re a lexicographer, you still might not catch its drift. That’s because the underlined words aren’t even in the dictionary ... yet. The 2008 edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary hits the shelves September 1, and its e
ditors have added more than 100 new words.
Food and technology are well represented with new additions like prosecco, a sparkling Italian wine, and webinar, an online, virtual or digital seminar. (Click over to Pantagraph.com for a complete list.)
But everyone’s favorite new word—including ours—is in a category by itself. The word mondegreen has been around since at least 1954, and it’s a word or phrase that results from a mishearing of something said or sung. Originally, it’s from the mishearing in a Scottish ballad of “laid him on the green” as “Lady Mondegreen.”
Our mondegreen is in the headline, and we know you’ve got one too. Share it with us! And don’t worry if you can’t come up with one right away, just remember “the ants are my friends/is blowin’ in the wind.”
