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User Name Thread Name Subject Posted
MaJoC the Filk any new mondegreens? (404* d) RE: any new mondegreens? 12 Jul 25


Example time: I see one burlap (in the above sense), or possibly two, in Beware of the Beautiful Stranger:

In the last verse:

There's a slight but considerable danger

.... should I *think* be:

There's a slight but significant danger

.... which to me makes more sense: "slight but considerable" sounds like a contradiction, while "slight but significant" means the danger's small but can't be ignored. The difference is slight but significant, quite apart from fixing the rhythm to match the tune, and adding a handy bonus alliteration.

The one I'm not sure of is in the fourth verse:

That ball needs a re-gun, I said, shelling out

.... which I've folk-processed into:

That ball needs a rebore, I said, shelling out

I've heard of reboring engine cylinder blocks, but not regunning anything; enlightenment humbly requested.*

Sadly, Clive James (Pete Atkin's lyricist) has died, so we can't ask him now on either point. Right, then: Let battle discussion commence ---

* One alternative nowadays might be reboot, but that'd be as anachronistic as one quid for telling one's fortune.


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