[Ads-l] Child's misunderstanding: "the donzerly light"

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The following book is pertinent "Pullet Surprises" (1969) by Amsel
Greene. It reportedly contains a collection of the malapropisms and
other blunders produced by Greene's students.

In 1985 the Los Angeles Times ran a skeptical article about another
more recent collection of student mistakes. Some "student errors" are
really recycled jokes from previous decades. (Yet, students from
different eras could make similar mistakes.)

Consider the following error that supposedly was made by a student:
"In 1957, Eugene O'Neill won a Pullet Surprise."

The LA Times mentioned an earlier occurrence. (I haven't tried to
trace it, yet.)

[Begin excerpt]
To date the phrase even further back, Mike Brennan of Pacific
Palisades writes that in the book "Bigger and Better Boners: An
Up-to-date Compendium of Errors Compiled from Classrooms and
Examination Papers by Alexander Abington," 1952, he finds this: "A
pullet surprise is given in America every year for the best writings."
[End excerpt]

Here is a link to the LA Times article:

Date: February 27, 1985
Article: 'Pullet surprise' mystery deepens: Malapropism or gin--it's a
case of boos
Byline: Jack Smith
http://articles.latimes.com/1985-02-27/news/vw-8930_1_pullet-surprise

Garson


On Mon, Apr 25, 2016 at 1:05 PM, ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
> "Donzerly light" was published in a humor column in 1954. Perhaps some
> phrases depicted as childhood misunderstandings have been deliberately
> constructed to appear in wordplay jokes. On the other hand, some
> genuine childhood misunderstandings might have been shared as jokes or
> placed into comedy routines. Perhaps the joke below evolved via
> embellishment.
>
> Date: July 30, 1954
> Newspaper: Detroit Free Press
> Newspaper Location: Detroit, Michigan
> Article: Sunny Side
> Byline: James S. Pooler
> Quote Page 3, Column 1
> Database: Newspapers.com (Publisher Extra)
>
> [Begin excerpt]
> From Lansing, Jay Bundenthal writes, to ask if you folks had heard
> about Mr. Donzerly, the inventor, who had just invented a new
> underwater light for deep sea divers.
>
> Hired a local diver named Jose Santos to try it out.
>
> After Jose had got down a good depth, Mr. Donzerly called him on the
> intercom and sang, "Jose, can you see by the Donzerly light?"
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
>
> On Mon, Apr 25, 2016 at 12:34 PM, Cohen, Gerald Leonard <gcohen at mst.edu> wrote:
>> Yesterday a family friend drew "donzerly light" to my attention-- reportedly mentioned in a Reader's Digest article years ago (exact number: ?) as an example of a child's misunderstanding the lyrics of The Star Spangled Banner ("the dawn's early light").
>> The child misunderstood "donzerly as an adjective describing "light." Btw, Google shows there's actually a book with the title "The Donzerly Light" (2010; by Ryne Douglas Pearson).
>>
>> Gerald Cohen
>> P.S. Also, a Mondegreen came up in the conversation; "a nominal egg" (an arm and a leg), referring to an exorbitant cost.
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org