Do You Hear What I Hear?
- Bird Lives
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Do You Hear What I Hear?
I’m sure we’re all familiar with seventeenth-century ballad "The Bonnie Earl O' Moray” — you know, the one with this stanza.
Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands,
Oh, where hae ye been?
They hae slain the Earl o' Moray,
And laid him on the green.
But that last line was misheard — the sound quality of AM radio in the 1600s not being what it is today — as “They hae slain the Earl o’ Moray and Lady Mondegreen.” The newly created Lady Mondegreen thus became the eponym for misheard lyrics of all sorts, including the answer to this week’s puzzle. You might even find mondegreens in the puzzle itself.
This construction was not intended to make things difficult, though depending your familiarity with the material, you may need Internet help. The goal was to bring about a — what’s the term I’m looking for? — ah yes, a Monday grin.
If you are inspired to add one of your own, either by PM or in the Crosshare comments, maybe we should try to limit these to your own personal mishearings, not ones you’ve heard of or found at amiright.com or other Internet sources, unless they’re really, really good.
Thanks to test solvers @Abide and @Al Sisti for help and advice and to @Joe Ross for copy editing and technical assistance.
The answer is the five-word completion of a well-known mondegreen.
Do You Hear What I Hear crosshare
Do You Hear What I Hear PUZ
Do You Hear What I Hear PDF
Do You Hear What I Hear spreadsheet
Ye Highlands and ye Lowlands,
Oh, where hae ye been?
They hae slain the Earl o' Moray,
And laid him on the green.
But that last line was misheard — the sound quality of AM radio in the 1600s not being what it is today — as “They hae slain the Earl o’ Moray and Lady Mondegreen.” The newly created Lady Mondegreen thus became the eponym for misheard lyrics of all sorts, including the answer to this week’s puzzle. You might even find mondegreens in the puzzle itself.
This construction was not intended to make things difficult, though depending your familiarity with the material, you may need Internet help. The goal was to bring about a — what’s the term I’m looking for? — ah yes, a Monday grin.
If you are inspired to add one of your own, either by PM or in the Crosshare comments, maybe we should try to limit these to your own personal mishearings, not ones you’ve heard of or found at amiright.com or other Internet sources, unless they’re really, really good.
Thanks to test solvers @Abide and @Al Sisti for help and advice and to @Joe Ross for copy editing and technical assistance.
The answer is the five-word completion of a well-known mondegreen.
Do You Hear What I Hear crosshare
Do You Hear What I Hear PUZ
Do You Hear What I Hear PDF
Do You Hear What I Hear spreadsheet
Last edited by Bird Lives on Mon Apr 17, 2023 11:42 am, edited 1 time in total.
Jay
- DCBilly
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- ChrisKochmanski
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Awful duck ouch!
LOVED this one. Thanks, Jay!
LOVED this one. Thanks, Jay!
Last edited by ChrisKochmanski on Mon Apr 17, 2023 1:16 pm, edited 2 times in total.
- ajk
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Got it, though a slight stumble on one part. Very fun, thanks.
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- Bird Lives
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Here is a "clarification" that does not quite reach the level of being a nudge or spoiler:
At least one solver (and perhaps many more) was stalled by 36A. The item in question is a cover and not the more famous version. My apologies.
At least one solver (and perhaps many more) was stalled by 36A. The item in question is a cover and not the more famous version. My apologies.
Jay
- boharr
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Off the couch. Clever and fun. Thank, Jay. Sent my personal mondegreens via PM as you requested.
- ajk
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Yeah, that was the aforementioned stumble. But it didn't take long to unravel, given that I knew what I was looking for.Bird Lives wrote: ↑Mon Apr 17, 2023 11:48 am At least one solver (and perhaps many more) was stalled by 36A. The item in question is a cover and not the more famous version. My apologies.
Check out this very cool project by many of your favorite muggles to raise money to fight cancer. You get a fun puzzle bundle and good causes get $. Win-win: Crosswords for Cancer
- sharkicicles
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Funny enough, I'm reading a book called The Hidden History of Coined Words and just read about this ballad and the origin of "mondegreen."
- MikeyG
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My grandfather always sang it as 22-A, haha. Off the couch!
Mine, which I only found out about a couple of years ago, happened to possess one of the most intricately poignant and poetic titles known to man: "Do Wah Diddy Diddy":
Tanks fort up uhs sill!
My Key Gee
Mine, which I only found out about a couple of years ago, happened to possess one of the most intricately poignant and poetic titles known to man: "Do Wah Diddy Diddy":
Of course, I heard it as:I'm hers, she's mine
Wedding bells are gonna chime
I figured that really didn't make sense, but maybe it was good preparation for marriage!I'm hurt, she's mad
Wedding bells are gonna chime
Tanks fort up uhs sill!
My Key Gee
- MMe
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Which was also a cover, although far better than both the original and the more recent cover, which violates the cardinal rule of covers by bringing nothing new to the table.Bird Lives wrote: ↑Mon Apr 17, 2023 11:48 am The item in question is a cover and not the more famous version. My apologies.
- rjy
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Off the couch... enjoyed the challenge and the accompanying journey into mondegreens. Such fun, thanks Jay!
Ray
- Bob cruise director
- Cruise Director
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A well known mondegreen - done by Yma Sumac?
Bob Stevens
Cruise Director
Cruise Director
- Meg
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Well, I got thrown off the couch eventually with the help of a friendly Muggle.
Check out and support http://CrosswordsForCancer.com.
- whimsy
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It's a puzzle and a singalong! (and it's got a good beat you can dance to.)
Thanks, Jay!
Thanks, Jay!
- CPJohnson
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Well, I'm stumped. Can do the grid and identify the mondegreens, but still searching for the metanism.
Cynthia
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- ReB
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Ah yes, untold millions searched for years for that 22A, without success, myself included.
- sharkicicles
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Now I really want a Keith Haring neon for the condo.
- HeadinHome
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I like this puzzle already and haven’t even started.
update: got the grid (fun puzzle!) but no idea how to get to the meta answer.
update: got the grid (fun puzzle!) but no idea how to get to the meta answer.
Last edited by HeadinHome on Mon Apr 17, 2023 7:50 pm, edited 1 time in total.
The other Wendy.