"Haffely, gaffely, gaffely, gonward!" is a famous line in English, but has been distorted. What is this kind of distortion called?

Question

"Haffely, gaffely, gaffely, gonward!" is a famous line in English, but has been distorted. What is this kind of distortion called?

Question #76667. Asked by queproblema.

zbeckabee

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zbeckabee

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Answer has 4 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.

A mondegreen (also sometimes spelled "mondagreen") is the mishearing (usually accidental) of a phrase in such a way that it acquires a new meaning.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondegreen

Mar 03 2007, 4:07 AM

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Answer 1

lanfranco
Answer has 2 votes

lanfranco
19 year member
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Answer has 2 votes.

I think I actually prefer the mondegreen version of that line to the original. "Gonward!" seems to sum up the whole Charge rather succinctly.

Mar 03 2007, 9:39 AM

Answer 2

queproblema
Answer has 2 votes

queproblema
18 year member
2119 replies

Answer has 2 votes.

It sure makes the history class want to find out about the Crimean War. We had to do Mairzy Doats, too.

The Light Brigade suffered fewer casualties than Pickett's Charge. They were really gonward.

Mar 03 2007, 10:57 AM

Answer 3

davejacobs
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davejacobs
22 year member
956 replies

Answer has 2 votes.

Reminds me of that excellent book 'A Monk Swimming' by Malachy McCourt; its title is a mondagreen, based on a childhood mishearing of the phrase from the Hail Mary': 'blessed art thou amongst women'.

Mar 04 2007, 4:02 AM