Arlene Miller's Blog

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Schw is the stock market abbreviation for Charles Schwab. 

Schwa is the unstressed central vowel represented by the symbol /ə/ in the International Phonetic Alphabet.

Dictionary addicts are well acquainted with this pronunciation symbol.  It is a “lazy,” quick sound made with the tongue in a central position, and it is the most common vowel sound in the English language. It is found in unstressed  or unaccented syllables.

The symbol for the schwa is ⟨ə⟩, a rotated lowercase letter “e.”

It sounds like  a relaxed, neutral vowel sound, sometimes described as a quick “uh.” 

The schwa sound is made by positioning the tongue in the middle of the mouth, neither high nor low, and part way to the roof of the mouth. 

The schwa sound can be produced by any vowel (a, e, i, o, u) or sometimes is not written at all. Most commonly it appears as  a, e, or o.

a – in america (the first and last ‘a’)

e –  in item,

 o –  in police

The sound between “th” and “m” in rhythm

Other words containing the schwa include upon (u), below (e), balloon (a), syringe (y), berserk (first er), broken (e), basket (e), happen (e) and heaven (e).

The schwa is the most frequent sound in English, with estimates suggesting it makes up approximately 12  per cent of all spoken phonemes and around 20 percent of all vowel phonemes. It’s estimated that one out of every eight sounds produced is a schwa. This sound is prevalent because it efficiently shortens unstressed syllables,  making it a common feature in most multi-syllabic words.

The schwa is used not only in  English, but in French, German, and Russian, although not in all languages.  It’s a common feature in many languages due to vowel reduction in unstressed positions and is even used as a gender-neutral ending in some dialects of Italian and other languages.  In North American English, a schwa can be inserted to ease the transition between consonants, as seen in words like “realtor,” where it might be pronounced as “real-ə-tor.”    Languages with SchwaEnglish – A ubiquitous sound in unstressed syllables, as in “about” (a-bout) or “family” (fam-uh-ly). French: Unaccented “e” sounds can reduce to a schwa, and the sound can appear in certain word-final positions. German: Standard German has the schwa phonemically, with examples like “bedsauern” (/bəˈdaʊ̯ɐn/). Russian: Unaccented “a” and “o” sounds often reduce to a schwa. Hebrew: The schwa is a distinct phoneme used in Hebrew, indicating a lost or reduced vowel.  Languages Without Schwa Spanish:  Spanish does not have an unstressed schwa; children learning English often substitute a more distinct vowel for English schwas. Some Slavic Languages: Languages such as Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian lack the schwa sound.      

 

Don’t know when you are reading this, but Friday, September 5, is my birthday. So Happy Birthday To Me! And here is some birthday trivia you might not know:

August has the most birthdays, followed by July and September. That must be why most of my friends have birthdays in those months, and both my parents did as well.

 February is the month with the fewest birthdays. My daughter has a February birthday.

 Some of the least common birthdays are February 29 (Leap Day – good thing), December 25, and January 1.

The first recorded birthday celebrations were by ancient Egyptians for their pharaohs, who were seen as gods, on their coronation day.

Ancient Greeks would place candles on round cakes to honor the moon goddess, Artemis, creating the tradition of birthday candles.

Blowing out birthday candles is said to have begun in ancient Greece, with the smoke carrying wishes to the gods.

A 2017 study found that blowing out candles increases the bacteria on the cake’s icing by 1,400%, but it is still generally safe to eat.

The first birthday cakes originated in Germany during the Middle Ages in a celebration called Kinderfest; these were more like coarse bread than sweet cakes.

Birthdays and graduations are the most popular occasions for sending greeting cards. I wonder how much sales have dropped for paper greeting cards since online cards and social media greetings became commonplace.

The most common birth date in the United States is October 5, and one of the least common is May 22 (and also February 29). The high rate of October 5 birthdays is likely due to conceptions around New Year’s Eve.

In a group of just 23 people, there is a 50/50 chance that two of them share the same birthday. With 70 people, the chance rises to 99.9%.

If you are celebrating a birthday today, there will only be 31,536,000 seconds until your next one.

The most popular song in the English language is “Happy Birthday to You.” Because it’s copyrighted, the song makes tons of money from licensing fees, but you rarely hear it sung on TV.

Upwards of two billion dollars are spent in the United States on birthday cards every year. Still? I wonder. 

The first birthday balloons were made out of animal intestines filled up with water (enticing, huh?).

The sun will travel 584,337,600 miles from one of your birthdays to the next.

Noisemakers used for birthdays originated in Europe as a way to ward off evil.

The practice of holding birthday parties for children began in Germany in
the 19th century.

In China it is the tradition to eat longevity noodles on one’s birthday.

In he 1960s hospitals started making footprints of newborn babies.

8760 hours pass between one birthday and the next (except Leap Year).

525,600 minutes pass  between one birthday and the next (except Leap Year).

In France you say “bon anniversaire!”  to wish someone a happy birthday.

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

Straying from words and grammar this week….and this may be a little disorganized and stream of consciousness.

Lots of Americans are thinking of where they would go if they left America. Many people have already left. Some are just changing states and not countries. 

If you could live anywhere, where would you live? City? Country? Suburbs? Rural? Island? Tropical climate? Four seasons? Beachfront? Highrise? Log cabin? Motor home? Europe? Mexico? Costa Rica? Or just where you are? 

Especially when they get older, most people want to live near family — near their grandchildren and children —  even if it is not in the ideal place. That is why I am in Florida. Being near family for me at this time must outweigh everything else. Before Florida, I lived in California for 26 years. I miss it because California is much more  comfortable for me than Florida. However I miss it, and my son is there, he is less reachable than my daughter, has no children at this point, and although I had more friends and acquaintances there than in Florida, I was often lonely there.  It may have been because I was younger. I never wanted to stay home. Now I am often happy to stay home, and I am a lot happier now.

I lived in Petaluma, California, a city with a good sized population that has the environment of a small town.  It has a cute downtown, with many great restaurants, although most of the antique shops of years ago are gone. Downtown is so cute that movies have been filmed there, including Peggy Sue Got Married and American Graffiti. It is near wine country, San Francisco, and is desirable and expensive. 

I miss my house, even though it was built in 1979 and needed major repairs aside from all the work I had done on it. I miss downtown. I miss my son. I miss feeling comfortable going out for coffee or lunch alone, which I do not feel comfortable at all doing here.  I miss my dog door and fenced in yard, even though the fence was falling down. Although I couldn’t walk downtown (I could but it was a longish walk), I could walk to a Starbucks. I could drive downtown in ten minutes, whereas now I cannot get anywhere in less than 40 minutes. I miss having a music scene and music friends and my music parties. I miss drivers who are not completely loony.

Obviously Florida is not my cup of tea. I do love the weather. But politically it is all wrong for me, and I keep to myself except for talking with a few people with sense. I think about where I might enjoy going….

There are other places in the United States I would move to. I haven’t been to every state, but I have been to Alabama, Arizona, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, N. Carolina, S. Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington State and DC, and Wyoming.

I could see living in Arizona, California, Massachusetts (where I was born and grew up), New Mexico, or New York. Part of me is a city person living in a high rise where I could walk to anything, a place like St. Pete, Florida. Another part of me is tired of the crowds and traffic here in Florida, and would love to live in a small town where I knew everyone and could easily walk downtown. There is even a small part of me that would like to live in the country and have no close neighbors. But I don’t know if I would like living alone in that environment.

Moving out of the United States is also appealing right now. I haven’t really traveled outside of the United States very much. I once drove over the line to Tijuana, Mexico, and went to a mall so that I could say I had been to Mexico. I have been to Montreal and to Western Canada. I have been to Paris and spent an afternoon in Amsterdam, And I have been to Nassau. And that’s it. I would love to visit many places, most of all Mexico, Costa Rica, Greece, Italy, Spain, Israel, Egypt, Poland, Japan, and Australia in particular. Maybe Portugal, where many people seem to be moving. I could see living in Mexico or Costa Rica….and France would be a dream. But then again, my family is small and it is here. 

We will see how things go. For now, I guess I am in Florida, in a place where there is too much development, too ,uch traffic, too few places of any quality to shop, and too many Republicans (sorry, but that is how I feel, and frankly I don’t feel the need to apologize). I live in a lovely community, but it is 55 and over, and while there are many people here younger than I, I do not like living in a 55 plus community. I wasn’t looking for that lifestyle, but I saw this particular villa and liked it and the price. I am not retired; I am not interested in pickleball and golf carts (unless I played golf, and there isn’t even a golf course in my community — just golf carts!). I have more in common with younger professional people. So I do think about even moving somewhere else close to where I am. But I cannot seem to find anyplace. I cannot even think of a place close enough to my daughter that has a downtown. But then I am spoiled, being 10 minutes down the road from her!

Where would you live?  Would you stay where you are if you could go anywhere??? Comment please!

 

Image by Sohag Hawlader from Pixabay

Being both a song lyricist and a grammarian, I notice the obvious grammar errors in popular song lyrics, as I am sure you do as well. Are they intentional? Who knows? Should they be corrected? Probably not. Let’s look at some of those lyrics.

Although Lie, Lady, Lie is proper grammar, I find that 99.99 percent of people say “I am going to lay down,” rather than the correct “lie down.” Does the song sound better the way it is because we are used to hearing it that say, or does it just sound better period? Lay, lady, and lay all have the same long a sound. Maybe that is why it sounds good. The lyrics were written by Bob Dylan, who probably knew better, and many renditions of the title and the song lyrics do use the commas, which are correct: “Lay, Lady, Lay.”

Most of the time, I don’t care if the grammar is incorrect in a song. But this one in particular really bothers me, and I do like the song: It is “Do Wah Diddy Diddy” by Manfred Mann. It was written by very prolific and well-known songwriters Ellie Greenwich and Jeff Barry, and I see no reason for the blatant grammar goof, “I know we was falling in love.” Yuck!

Bobbie Gentry had a hit with “Bobby McGee,” written by Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster (don’t know Fred). It contains the phrase “good enough for me and Bobby McGee.”  Would “good enough for Bobby McGee and me”  have had the same rhythm? Maybe not.

Well, we all know to avoid double negatives. Did Mick Jagger and Keith Richards know that when they wrote 
“I Can’t Get No Satisfaction”? I bet they did, but there is just something funny sounding about “I Can’t Get Any Satisfaction.” And there is an extra syllable, which ruins the accents.

Never use ain’t? Bill Withers did when he wrote and sang “Ain’t No Sunshine.” Then he added a double negative in the line “and this house just ain’t no home.”

I have never heard of songwriters Terry Britten and Graham Hamilton Lyle, but  we have all heard of Tina Turner, who sang “What’s Love Got to Do with It?”  Got is actually the past tense of get and is often incorrectly used instead of have ( as in We don’t got any.) What’s love have to do with it sounds funny, but it may be because we are used to hearing it with got. I think we all might agree that grammar mistakes often give a song the edge that it needs.

Stefani Germanotta and Nadir Khayat wrote “Bad Romance” for Lady Gaga. You and me could write a bad romance? Most people would probably say it that way anyway. Obviously it should be you and I, but at least it doesn’t say me and you! (which would also sound okay and be wrong.)

In “Hungry Eyes,” Eric Carmen sings, “I feel the magic between you and I.” The song was written by John Denicola and Franke Previte, whom I have never heard of.  The rhyming words in the verse are disguise and eyes. I is a much closer match than me! However, it is always correct to say between you and me, although once again 99.99 percent of us . . . 

Wow! It took nine songwriters to not know about the subjunctive mood! In Rich Girl, Gwen Stefani sings, “If I was a rich girl…” Well, Stefani is actually a rich girl, but in the song, she apparently isn’t, so were should be used rather than was to indicate something that isn’t the case. Thank you, Sheldon Harnick and Lewis Bock Jerrold, for writing “If I Were a Rich Man” from Fiddler on the Roof. And as for Andre Young, Chantal Kreviazuk, Eve Jeffers, Gwen Stefani, Jerry Bock, Kara Dioguardi, Mark Batson, Mike Elizondo, and  Sheldon Harnick, I have two words for you: subjunctive mood.

If you do a search for song lyrics with grammatical mistakes, you will usually find among them, “I Feel Good” by James Brown, written by James Brown. Those websites say it should be “I Feel Well.” Ah, no! It actually an be either. Grammatically speaking, feel can be an emotion or an action. When feel is an emotion, we follow it with an adjective. When feel is an action we use an adverb. Feel in this case is an emotion and should be followed by the adjective good. If you feel well, that technically means your fingertips are sensitive and do a good job of feeling things. However, we will give those websites a break because I feel well is accepted just because well is also used to indicate a state of health. But, I Feel Good is correct.

 

 

 

 

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay

There are words in other languages that cannot really be translated into English. On the other side, there are English words (and slang) that cannot be translated into other languages. Here is a sampling of such words.

Words that cannot be translated into English:

1. Cafuné (Portuguese, Brazil) – Running your fingers through a loved one’s hair.

2. Duende (Spanish) – The mysterious power of art to deeply move a person.

3. Forelsket (Norwegian) – The euphoria you feel when falling in love.

4. Gezelligheid (Dutch) – A cozy, friendly, pleasant atmosphere.

5. Hanyauku (Rukwangali, Namibia) – Walking on tiptoes across hot sand.

6. Jayus (Indonesian) – A joke so unfunny it becomes funny.

7. Kilig (Tagalog, Philippines) – The fluttery feeling of romantic excitement.

8. Komorebi (Japanese) – Sunlight filtering through trees.

9. Kummerspeck (German) – Weight gained from emotional eating; literally “grief bacon.”

10. Outwaaien (Dutch) – Walking in the wind to clear your mind.

11. Saudade (Portuguese) – Deep emotional longing for someone or something that’s absent.

12. Schadenfreude (German) – Pleasure from another’s misfortune.

13. Sobremesa (Spanish) – Time spent talking and relaxing after a meal.

14. Tingo (Pascuense, Easter Island) – Borrowing items one by one from a friend’s home until there’s nothing left.

15. Toska (Russian) – A deep, melancholic ache without clear cause.

16. Tsundoku (Japanese) – Buying books and letting them pile up unread.

English words that cannot be translated into other languages:

1. Serendipity – The occurrence of finding something wonderful or useful by happy accident. (Most languages have to explain it with a sentence.)

2. Gobbledygook – Language that’s unnecessarily complicated and difficult to understand, often on purpose.

3. Spam – Both the canned meat and unwanted digital messages — the latter meaning is uniquely English-born and doesn’t exist in the same shorthand elsewhere.

4. Whistleblower – Someone who exposes illegal or unethical activity from inside an organization.

5. Hooligan – A rowdy or violent troublemaker, especially in sports contexts.

6. Fair – Meaning “just,” “light-skinned,” “reasonable,” and “beautiful” depending on context — a nightmare for translation.

7. Gumption – A mix of courage, resourcefulness, and determination.

8. Awkward – Not just clumsy, but socially uncomfortable too.

9. Overwhelmed – To be completely overcome emotionally or mentally; some languages have “burdened” but not the same emotional nuance.

10. Gobsmacked – Utterly shocked or amazed, to the point you’re almost speechless. (It’s British, colorful, and doesn’t compress neatly into another language.)

11. Kerfuffle – A commotion, fuss, or minor chaos, usually over something trivial.

12. Faff / Faffing about – Wasting time with unproductive fiddling or dithering.

13. Skint – Completely broke, without money — but more casual and resigned than “destitute.”

14. Cheeky – Playfully rude or irreverent; could be charming or annoying, depending on tone.

15. Gutted – Bitterly disappointed, as if your insides have been scooped out.

16. Knackered – Exhausted, absolutely drained.

 

 

 

 

Image by John Hain from Pixabay

Contronyms (also spelled contranyms) are words that are their own opposites: For example, clip can mean to attach or to cut off. Contronyms are also known as janus words, antagonyms, and autoantonyms.

Here are some examples:

Bolt -to secure in place OR to flee quickly

Bound – going somewhere OR tied up and restricted from going anywhere

Cleave – to split apart OR to cling together

Consult – to offer advice OR to ask for it

Disciplined – well-behaved OR punished

Dust – to remove dust OR to sprinkle dust

Execute – to carry out (a task) OR to kill

Fast – quick OR firmly fixed and immobile

Finished – completed OR destroyed (as in “You’re finished!”)

Go – to proceed OR  to collapse (e.g., “The toaster is about to go.”)

Hold up – to support OR to delay

Lease – to rent out OR to rent from someone

Left – departed from OR remaining behind

Left off – started again where you stopped OR excluded

Oversight – careful management OR missed detail

Out -visible (e.g., stars are out) OR invisible (lights are out)

Pop – to suddenly appear OR disappear ( the balloon popped)

Resign – to quit a job OR to sign again (little different pronunciation)

Sanction – to permit OR to penalize

Screen -to display OR to hide (as in screening a movie vs. screening from the sun)

Seed – to plant seeds OR to remove seeds

Sick -Ill OR awesome (slang)

Stone -to pelt with stones OR to remove stones from (as in fruit)

Strike -to hit OR to miss (as in baseball)

Throw out – to discard OR to propose (e.g., an idea)

Trim – to decorate OR to remove excess

Weathered – withstood OR worn down by exposure

Wind up – to end OR to get started (as in winding up a toy)

 

 

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Image by Ribhav Agrawal from Pixabay

You might not use these strange, often antiquated, words very often. Do you know what they mean? Choose the correct meaning from the three options. Then scroll down for the answers!

Bumfuzzle – 

Nonsense   2. To confuse  3. An excessively talkative person

Callipygia –

A type of bagpipe    2. Having well-shaped buttocks   3.  A deceitful person

Defenestration – 

Spitting while speaking    2. Act of stretching or yawning  3. Act of throwing someone out of a window

Doodle Sack – 

Old word for  bagpipe   2. An armpit   3. A situation in chess where every move is a bad one

Erf – 

To gulp down something quickly  2. A lawyer who handles petty cases  3. A plot of land in a town

Gardyloo – 

A  public restroom  2. A warning shouted before throwing waste from a window  3. Antique toilet

Jiggery-pokery – 

Nonsense   2. Deceitful behavior  3. A small quantity of something left over

Limerence – 

A short poem that rhymes  2. Infatuation with another person  3. Stomach rumbling

 Mumpsimus – 

Whispering or murmuring    2. Shrewd or unprincipled person  3. Stubborn person 

Nudiustertian – 

 On time  2. Relating to undergarments  3. Relating to the day before yesterday

Oxter – 

The lower back   2. The kneecap   3. The armpit

Pettifogger – 

Someone who speaks about things they don’t understand  2. A shred, unprincipled person  3. A lawyer who handles petty cases

Snollygoster – A dirty, unkempt child  2. A crooked lawyer  3. An unprincipled person

Wamble – 

To stumble and fall   2. A stubborn person   3. Stomach rumbling

Zenzizenzizenzic – 

An alphabet with many letters   2. A word with two zz’s in a row  2. The eighth power of a number

 

Scroll down for the answers

 

keep going

keep going

Keep going

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bumfuzzle – To confuse 

Callipygia -Having well-shaped buttocks

Defenestration – The act of throwing someone out of a window

Doodle Sack – Old word for a bagpipe

Erf – A plot of land in a town 

Gardyloo – A warning shouted before throwing waste from a window

Jiggery-pokery – Deceitful behavior

Limerence – Infatuation with another person

 Mumpsimus – A stubborn person 

Nudiustertian – Relating to the day before yesterday

Oxter – The armpit

Pettifogger – A lawyer who handles petty cases,

Snollygoster – An unprincipled person 

Wamble – Stomach rumbling

Zenzizenzizenzic – The eighth power of a number

 

 

 

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay

A binomial is a mathematical expression consisting of two terms: x + y is a binomial. 3 x 7 is a binomial.

There are also binomials in language, and they are basically the same. A binomial comprises two words that go together in an idiomatic expression, such as up and down.

Binomials in language have these characteristics:

They are usually connected by a conjunction, generally and, but there are exceptions: black and white, but coffee or tea, sad but true, step by step  They are generally the same part of speech, usually both nouns or both adjectives, but not always: bread and butter (nouns); black and white (adjectives); in and out (adverbs).They are idiomatic: The two words go together as a single unit of meaning, even though each of the words can be used on its own. The order of the two words is significant. The expression sounds weird if the two words are reversed: butter and bread; out and in; clear and loud.

Here are some binomial expressions. Can you think of more?

All or nothing – either full success or total failure

Back and forth – moving in one direction and then the opposite repeatedly

Bacon and eggs – breakfast

Bits and pieces – small things or parts

Black and white – clearly defined, with no ambiguity

Bread and butter – main source of income or basic needs

Bright and early – very early in the morning

By and large – generally speaking

Come and go – appear and disappear repeatedly

Cut and paste – computer instruction

Dos and don’ts – rules or guidelines

Down and out – very poor or defeated

Fast and furious – very much so

First and foremost – most important

Flesh and blood – close family or basic humanity

Give or take – approximately; more or less

Give and take – mutual compromise

Ham and eggs

High and dry – left without help or support

High and mighty – arrogant or overconfident

In and out

Law and order – a well-organized society following rules

Life and death – very serious or critical situation

Live and learn – learning through personal experience

Loud and clear – very clear and easy to understand

More or less – approximately

Now and then – occasionally

Odds and ends – miscellaneous things

Out and about – active or going from place to place

Over and out – done speaking

Peace and quiet – calm and without stress or distractions

Pick and choose – select freely from among many options

Pros and cons – advantages and disadvantages

Ready and willing – ready to go

Right and wrong – clear moral choices

Rise and fall – growth followed by decline

Rough and ready – not perfect, but good enough

Safe and sound – unharmed and secure

Salt and pepper – spices, hair color

Sick and tired – extremely annoyed or fed up

Sink or swim – succeed or fail without help

Skin and bones – extremely thin

Short and sweet – brief but pleasant

Step by step – gradually, one stage at a time

Sweet and sour – flavor

Touch and go – uncertain or risky situation

Trial and error – learning by trying and failing

Trials and tribulations – problems, challenges

Wait and see – be patient and observe what happens

Wear and tear – damage from regular use

 

 

 

 

 

Image by Wolfgang Eckert from Pixabay

So, here is what I have read since I last did a book post, according to Goodreads, where I keep track of my reading (since otherwise, I might not know what I have read, and I might read it again by mistake!)

Our Time Is Now by Stacey Abrams – I read this one really quickly, skimming through much of it, because I had to read it for a book club about banned books. I had not left enough time to read it. The club is based in California and I am in Florida, so the club meets online at 10 p.m. my time. A little late for me. It was on my calendar, and I knew about the meeting all day. Then, at 11:30 p.m. as I was sitting in bed, I realized I had completely forgotten the meeting. So I never did find out why this book is banned and where. In any case, I thought it was a very good read. You may not like it if you are on the political right. Much of it is about voter suppression and our fight for democracy and fair elections, and I found it pretty scary. I recommend it. Four out of five stars

Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven by Susan Jane Gilman – This one was recommended by someone who sent me a message about it. I don’t remember who it was, but I trusted their judgment. I didn’t love it, but I did get through it. It is about two college roommates who decide to backpack over the world after they graduate in 1986. They begin in the People’s Republic of China. From culture shock to government surveillance, they find they are in way over their heads. Partly comedic and partly thriller, it received three of five stars from me. 

A Girl from Lynn by Evelyn Elwell – I went to high school with Evelyn. She has written a great book that is of course interesting to those who are from Lynn, Massachusetts, about 12 miles north of Boston. Lynn was the home of the shoe industry, which my maternal grandfather was a part of. The book is about a 16- year-old girl who lives in Lynn in the 1850s. She wants to attend college and become a teacher, but life has other plans. She is sidetracked by a family accident, the fight for labor unions, and the Civil War. This book is a great read. I gave it five stars.

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore – Another outstanding read! This book was recommended by a friend who was reading it for her book club. It takes place in the 1930s with young girls who were “lucky” enough to get jobs painting watch dials with radium, the new craze that was supposed to have great medical properties and be completely safe. The girls actually glowed with radium power all over them, and they used their mouths to make the brush points nice and thin. These girls started to develop a variety of odd symptoms, yet the companies denied any issues with the radium. Eventually, the girls went to court and were finally listened to. Although many of the girls lost their lives, they did eventually win the fight.  Five out of five stars.

More or Less Maddy by Lisa Genova – If you have not read Lisa Genova, you should. She writes novels that deal with mental health issues, such as dementia, and in this book, bipolar disorder. It is about a young woman who is finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder and wants to be a stand-up comic, against the traditional advice of her parents. The book is about her ups and downs with and without medication and how she deals with her diagnosis in her own way. Four out of five stars.

Manifest: Seven Steps to Living Your Best Life by Roxy Nafousi – Well you know how much I am fascinated with manifestation. This book is rated one of the best. Nafousi is called the Queen of Manifesting, but so are a lot of other people! I thought the book was fairly good, especially for someone unfamiliar with manifesting. It has tons of reviews on Amazon and is rated 4.7 there. I gave it three stars of five.

How to Read a Book by Monica Wood – This seemed like my kind of book from the title. It is a novel and is highly reviewed on Amazon with lots of reviews. It is about a young women recently released from prison after killing a woman while she was driving drunk, an older librarian who runs the prison book club, and the husband of the woman who was killed by the drunk driver. They come together one day at a bookstore, and their lives begin to intersect. I thought it was just OK, and gave it three stars of five.

Liberation Day by George Saunders – This is a book of short stories. I very rarely read short stories because I don’t really like them. However, I wanted to read something else by this author, who wrote Lincoln in the Bardo, which is a very weird book. I gave the book three out of five stars, but Amazon reviews were much better. He is compared with Kurt Vonnegut, but I loved reading Vonnegut. Frankly, I cannot remember any of these stories at all. But you might like it if you like short stories. He is an author of high regard. Just not mine. 

There is a book up on the other end; I just know it!

 

Image by Valeria Lo Iacono from Pixabay

In the Creedence Clearwater hit, “Bad Moon Rising,” the line is,”There’s a bad moon on the rise.” But many listeners think it is, “There’s a bathroom on the right.” And if you give a listen you will understand why.  This mishearing is called a mondegreen.

The word mondegreen, means a mishearing of a popular phrase or song lyric. (Usually, but it can be anything; however, sometimes song lyrics are difficult to understand, so maybe that is why so many are from songs.)

It was coined by the writer Sylvia Wright. As a child, she heard the Scottish ballad The Bonny Earl of Murray and thought that one verse went like this:

Ye Highlands and Ye Lowlands
Oh where hae you been?
They hae slay the Earl of Murray,
And Lady Mondegreen.

Poor Lady Mondegreen, thought Sylvia Wright.  Years later, she discovered that what they had actually done was slay the Earl of Murray and lay him on the green. Wright then memorialized her Lady Mondegreen with the new word.

I think “for all intensive purposes” is likely a mondegreen. The correct phrase is “for all intents and purposes.” I think people mishear it and then say it wrong. It doesn’t make a lot of sense anyway, so it is easy to make a mistake with it. 

Here are some of the best (and well known, in many cases, mondegreens):

“Every time you go away/you take a piece of meat with you” (should be ” … take a piece of me with you,”) from the Paul Young song “Every Time You Go Away”)

“I led the pigeons to the flag” (for “I pledge allegiance to the flag”)

“Excuse me while I kiss this guy” (should be “Excuse me while I kiss the sky”) from “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix

“The ants are my friends” (for “The answer, my friend”) in “Blowing in the Wind” by Bob Dylan

“I’ll never leave your pizza burning” (for “I’ll never be your beast of burden”) by the Rolling Stones

“The girl with colitis goes by” (for “the girl with kaleidoscope eyes”) in “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” by the Beatles

“The girl from Emphysema goes walking” (for “The girl from Ipanema goes walking”) in “The Girl from Ipanema,” by Astrud Gilberto 

“Hold me closer Tony Danza”  (should be “Hold me closer tiny dancer”) from “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John

“We built this city on sausage rolls” (should be”We built this city on rock and roll”) by the Starship

“Give me the Beach Boys and free my soul” (should be”Give me the beat boys and free my soul”) from  “Drift Away by Uncle Kracker

 “I like big butts in a can of limes”  (should be “I like big butts and I cannot lie”) from “Baby Got Back” by Sir Mix-A-Lot

“Here we are now in containers”  (should be “Here we are now, entertain us”) from “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana

“Kicking your cat all over the place ” (should be “Kicking your can all over the place”) from “We Will Rock You” by Queen

“Like a virgin, touched for the 31st time”  (should be  “Like a virgin, touched for the very first time”) from “Like a Virgin” by Madonna

“I guess he’s an expert, and I’m more an attorney” (should be “I guess he’s an Xbox, and I’m more Atari”) from “Forget You” by CeeLo Green

“In a glob of Velveeta, honey” (should be “In-a-gadda-da-vida, honey”) from “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (In the Garden of Eden)” by Iron Butterfly

 “If you change your mind, Jackie Chan, I’m the first in line, Jackie Chan”  (should be “If you change your mind, take a chance, I’m the first in line, take a chance”) from “Take a Chance on Me” by ABBA

These mondegreens caused changes that occurred to words over time:

would have done / would of done
spit and image / spitting image
Welsh rabbit / Welsh rarebit