Mondegreens' cousins: Soramimis

Subject: RE: Mondegreens' cousins: Soramimis
From: Thompson
Date: 09 Jan 17 - 09:38 AM

A popular bring-home-a-present-for-your-friends present for Irish gay people visiting France is a nice little wine called Derriere Les Fagots.
Friend called Malachi, a common enough name in Ireland, couldn't understand why Greek people fell around laughing every time someone said his name on a holiday to Greece. Apparently it means 'Wanker'.
And an American taking a language-learning holiday in Glencolmcille was enraged when she was wandering around the bookshop and she was helpfully approached by the proprietor asking "are you looking for a focloir?" (pron: fucklore; meaning: dictionary)
By the same token, I was visiting Irish friends in Paris and they were talking about making a visit to what I thought was the Árd Fheis (annual convention of whatever political party you're into), but turned out to be the Ardèche, pronounced more or less the same.
Another French one: visiting Paris with a fluent friend, and she was admiring a public garden to the municipal gardener who was working in it. I was surprised that she described his work as "genial" - well, it was fairly cheery looking - but she later explained to me that "genial" in French relates to genius, and is the equivalent of saying something's "brilliant" in English.

Subject: RE: Mondegreens' cousins: Soramimis
From: robomatic
Date: 09 Jan 17 - 01:50 PM

I always wonder when non-Hebrew speakers are attending a Shabbat service if they wonder as the liturgical line including "doing wonders" comes up:


Doing Wonders -sounds like- Oh-Say' Fel-leh'

I've been noticing that since I was elbow high.