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When I was young, my cousins told me if you slept under an apple tree, you'd get earwigs.
Now I understand people use "earwig" to mean an unwanted song you might have stuck in your head (ie. "I cannot listen to the Beatles without getting earwigs.").
Is this correct?
And, if so, can one have earwigs "of" something? (ie. "earwigs of 'Love is all you need'")
Or can "earwig" simple be prefixed with a descriptive? (ie. "Chopin earwigs")
Does that some remotely reasonable to anyone? Or would it cause reading confusion?
Now I understand people use "earwig" to mean an unwanted song you might have stuck in your head (ie. "I cannot listen to the Beatles without getting earwigs.").
Is this correct?
And, if so, can one have earwigs "of" something? (ie. "earwigs of 'Love is all you need'")
Or can "earwig" simple be prefixed with a descriptive? (ie. "Chopin earwigs")
Does that some remotely reasonable to anyone? Or would it cause reading confusion?
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Re: earwig
Wed, July 27, 2011 - 11:11 AMForficula auricularia, the common earwig is a harmless insect, although an old legend says they crawl into the ears of sleeping humans and burrow into the brain. This is nonsense, of course; for one thing, there is no opening in the human skull connecting the ear canal to the brain. Nevertheless, it makes sense to use the term in describing a tune that gets into one's brain and lodges there for a long time, resisting all efforts to root it out. An old, odd piece of folklore that may have become a modern metaphor.
Source: Wikipedia article--en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forf...uricularia
With love under will,
Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville -
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Re: earwig
Wed, July 27, 2011 - 12:12 PMI find the cure for earwigs of this nature is to force myself to start singing "Mm-Bop" from Hansen.
A) I don't know all the words
B) I don't WANT to know all the words
C) I'm embarrassed about the words I DO know
D) I don't want to be seen singing this song
E) The tune is unfortunately so catchy it will replace whatever other song has been playing all day. -
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Re: earwig
Wed, July 27, 2011 - 7:33 PM>>>the cure for earwigs of this nature is to force myself to start singing "Mm-Bop" from Hansen<<<
Oddly enough, I use a similar method employing the climax of "Nessun dorma" from "Turandot." Once I get the Puccini in my head, everything else is locked out. Besides, I love just about anything by Puccini, so it's no sacrifice to find that tune taking over.
With love under will,
Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville -
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doodah, doodah
Thu, August 4, 2011 - 5:33 PMa cure that is usually worse than the original song: Camptown Ladies.
Will crowd out any song stuck in one's head pretty quickly. -
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Re: doodah, doodah
Sun, August 21, 2011 - 8:35 PMAs Adastra says, an earwig is an insect. The song that gets stuck in my head is an earworm. And generally speaking, some Judas Priest just knocks that right outta there. -
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Re: doodah, doodah
Tue, August 23, 2011 - 3:28 PMEarworm did not exist in the American English lexicon of Mark Twain's time. But 135 years ago he wrote about the phenomenon in his short story, "A Literary Nightmare": acephalous.typepad.com/acepha...ig.html
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Re: earwig
Sat, September 3, 2011 - 9:20 AMI just saw a news cast in which a cockroach was removed from a woman's ear. Ewww! Not a song a cockroach! -
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Re: earwig
Sun, September 4, 2011 - 9:28 AMIt's not news if a cockroach earwigs a woman. It's news if a woman earwigs a cockroach.
"Ah, Mark, it was a ruinous investment that I made in those heartless rhymes." -
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Re: earwig
Wed, September 7, 2011 - 8:52 AMBrilliant. Seldom has Sam Clemens been so hilarious. He is, of course, constantly hilarious, sarcastic, sardonic, even "sarcaustic" (new word. Like it?) But in the jingle essay, he has finally reached the culmination of sarcausm, hasn't he?
Thanks for the link, JM,
With love under will,
Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville -
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Re: earwig
Mon, September 26, 2011 - 7:24 PM>> Thanks for the link, JM, <<
Well, dang. Nothing like being overlooked or mis-thanked! lol -
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Re: earwig
Tue, September 27, 2011 - 7:28 AMMy apologies, BSD. I was looking at the wrong post when I typed thanks to the wrong person. I deeply appreciate your introducing me to a work by Clemens that I had never seen before.
With love under will,
Bob, Adastra,
The Wizzard of Jacksonville
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Re: earwig
Thu, October 13, 2011 - 12:25 PMi've got a REALLY effective song that'll clear ANYTHING from your head... it works for me every time :)
you know that manah manah song?? youtube 'manamana' or 'mahna mahna and the muppets' lol i'm sorry in advance
