Mondegreens Misheard Song Lyrics
By Graham Meyer
Across
1. Analogue for the Girl from Ipanema, when walking
6. Itch
9. “¿Cómo ___?”
14. Not guilty and no contest, for instance
15. Univ. that admitted its first women in 1997
16. Type of jacket
17. With 21-Across, what Creedence Clearwater Revival is definitely not singing about in “Bad Moon Rising”
19. Wild card in canasta
20. Philosopher Descartes
21. See 17-Across
23. Sine qua non
25. Gray-brown
26. Scratch (out)
27. Candy/jewelry manufactured by Topps
31. Australian pop star Minogue
35. Got the point?
36. Pearl Harbor site
37. What The Corrs are definitely not saying in “Breathless”
41. Stand-in for many authors
42. Bluebird?
43. Big dos?
44. Out of Africa writer Isak
46. Target customer for G.I. Joe
48. Line for W.C. Fields, maybe
49. Water park attraction
54. With 60-Across, what Bob Dylan is definitely not saying in “Blowin’ in the Wind”
58. Berg opera
59. Marie Antoinette, par exemple
60. See 54-Across
62. Top-selling U.S. root beer
63. What an index finger might mean
64. Aspect
65. Basketball strategy
66. Diploma alternative
67. House Majority Leader Hoyer
Down
1. Famous British racecourse
1. Be flinty?
2. The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? playwright Edward
3. Cruel type
4. Oscar winner for Misery
5. Baseball bat wood
6. She played Lily on The Munsters
7. Ham it up
8. Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of ___
9. Avoidance tactic
10. Taking to the station, maybe
11. Heavy
12. It can fall on one’s feet?
13. Lard substitute
18. Castle
22. Patsy’s Absolutely Fabulous pal
24. Thrive
27. California roll ingredient, sometimes
28. Tonight Show host before Carson
29. Disdainful synonym for “very”
30. Sets
31. Brit’s ex
32. Abominable beast
33. List
34. The devil’s playthings, it’s said
35. Droll
38. DVD button
39. Proscribe
40. He played Walter Mitty
45. Prominent features on comic book muscles
46. Tossed one’s cookies
47. What you don’t want to be on “The Price Is Right”
49. Recurring Mike Myers character
50. Pants fold
51. Measure of prevention?
52. ___ days
53. Like bedroom eyes
54. Lobster grabber?
55. Try, as a case
56. “___ Kleine Nachtmusik”
57. Skyline obscurer
61. Conditions
As long as we’re into debunking, you may be interested in being disabused of a few mondegreens. Mondegreens are misheard song lyrics. The word was coined by a listener who thought the lyric “They have killed the Earl of Murray and laid him on the green” was “They have killed the Earl of Murray and Lady Mondegreen.” Some are legendary, like Hendrix’s “Excuse me while I kiss this guy,” the Beatles’ “the girl with colitis goes by,” or Elton John’s “Hold me closer, Tony Danza.” This month’s puzzle has a few you may not have heard before—or that may prevent your future embarrassment.
