mondegreen

Valid in Scrabble

Scrabble points
14
Words With Friends
18
Letters
10
Pronunciation
/ˈmɒndəɡɹiːn/ (UK)
See all 2 pronunciations
/ˈmɒndəɡɹiːn/ (UK) · /ˈmɑndəɡɹiːn/ (US)

Definition of mondegreen

2 senses · 1 part of speech · etymology included

noun

  1. A form of (possibly intentional) error arising from mishearing a spoken or sung phrase, possibly in a different language.
    “Our report of a relative who, as a child, thought the classic version of the Lord's Prayer began "Our father, a chart in heaven, Harold be thy name" stated that this type of mistake is known as an eggcorn. A number of readers have suggested that instances like this in which a whole phrase rather than just a word is misheard, should be called mondegreens rather than eggcorns.”
    “The title lyric ["Bei Mir Bistu Shein"], the only part of the original Yiddish preserved by Cahn, was a mondegreen waiting to happen—“My Mere Bits of Shame” and “My Beer, Mr. Shane” were among the earliest recorded mishearings—but the language barrier didn't […]”
See all 2 definitions

noun

  1. A form of (possibly intentional) error arising from mishearing a spoken or sung phrase, possibly in a different language.
    “Our report of a relative who, as a child, thought the classic version of the Lord's Prayer began "Our father, a chart in heaven, Harold be thy name" stated that this type of mistake is known as an eggcorn. A number of readers have suggested that instances like this in which a whole phrase rather than just a word is misheard, should be called mondegreens rather than eggcorns.”
    “The title lyric ["Bei Mir Bistu Shein"], the only part of the original Yiddish preserved by Cahn, was a mondegreen waiting to happen—“My Mere Bits of Shame” and “My Beer, Mr. Shane” were among the earliest recorded mishearings—but the language barrier didn't […]”
  2. (rare)A misunderstanding of a written or spoken phrase as a result of multiple definitions.

Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Etymology

Coined by American journalist and editor Sylvia Wright in 1954 in Harper's Magazine from mishearing a line in the Scottish ballad The Bonnie Earl o' Moray: “They have slain the Earl o' Moray, / And laid him on the green”, the second line being misheard as, “And Lady Mondegreen”.

Words you can make from mondegreen

183 playable · top: MONGERED (12 pts)

Best play mongered 12 points

9-letter words

1 word

8-letter words

1 word

7-letter words

9 words

6-letter words

26 words

5-letter words

28 words

4-letter words

54 words

3-letter words

46 words

2-letter words

17 words

Hooks

1 extension · 1 back

A single letter you can add to mondegreen to make another valid word.

Find your best play with mondegreen

See every word you can make from a set of letters that includes mondegreen, or browse word lists you can mine for high-scoring plays.