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

[Clai Rice]

I distinctly remember an episode from the kid's book Ramona the Pest involving "dawnzer lee light." It was published in 1968, and I would have read it before 1974.

----- Original Message -----
> From: "Gerald Leonard Cohen" <gcohen at MST.EDU>
> Sent: Monday, April 25, 2016 11:34:41 AM
> Subject: Child's misunderstanding: "the donzerly light"
> 
> 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