reanalysis of "mondo"

[Laurence Horn]

Anu Garg's wordsmith list, <wsmith at wordsmith.org>, just sent out this
nice example of reanalysis I hadn't thought of:
=================
mondo (mon-DO) adjective

    Huge; enormous; ultimate.

adverb

    Extremely, very.

[After 1966 movie Mondo Bizarro (literally "Bizarre World" but interpreted
as "very bizarre"), where mondo is from the 1961 Italian movie Mondo Cane
(A Dog's World) and reinterpreted as an intensifier. More on this movie at:
http://imdb.com/title/tt0188909/ ]

   "As Asia's productivity shakes the world, and as `just in time' inventory
    management keeps rolling along, air cargo has become one mondo important
    gig."
    Ed Stephens Jr.; Cargo Tells a Story; Saipan Tribune (North Mariana
    Islands); Jun 3, 2005.
==================
Other than the odd pronunciation guide (does anyone, in either
English or Italian, really stress "mondo" on the second syllable?),
this seems right.  "Mondo" provides a really nice example of
reinterpretation through opacity, like "Wherefore art thou, Romeo?"
or "chili" or even "bead".  (Sorry if all this is in HDAS; I don't
have my copy on me.)

Larry