A few months ago, we talked about mondegreens. Mondegreens are misheard or misunderstood phrases, usually in poems or song lyrics. The term is from the song lyrics "And laid him on the green” misheard as “Lady Mondegreen.”
Today I have a similar term for you: oronym. Some say that it is the same as a mondegreen, though other sources say it refers to sentences that can sound the same when read aloud, but contain different words. Here are some examples of oronyms from wordinfo.info:
The stuffy nose can lead to problems.
The stuff he knows can lead to problems.
Are you aware of the words you have just uttered?
Are you aware of the word you have just stuttered?
That’s the biggest hurdle I’ve ever seen.
That’s the biggest turtle I’ve ever seen.
I’m taking a nice cold shower.
I’m taking an ice cold shower.
Reading in the library is sometimes allowed.
Reading in the library is sometimes aloud.
The boy saw some grey pants.
The boy saw some grape ants.
Hope you have a great weekend!
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Kara Church
Senior Technical Editor
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