Author(s): Martin Toseland

NZ non-fiction

Linguistic mistakes. We all make them. And if your name is George W Bush or Jade Goody, you might make them more often than others. In THE ANTS ARE MY FRIENDS (delightfully misheard from Bob Dylan's 'Blowing in the Wind') Martin Toseland has collected the very best (and very worst) linguistic gifts of the gaffe. Catergories features include: Malapropisms (named after Mrs Malaprop in Sheridan's 'The Rivals' where the wrong word pops out to bizarre results); Eggcorns (where a new word is created from misheard real one -- the name comes from someone misunderstanding 'acorn' as 'eggcorn', as it has the same shape); Bushisms (the humour in which cannot be misunderestimated); and Mondegreens or misheard lyrics, which include such classic examples as: Who Ya Gonna Call, Gus Foster (Ghostbusters by Ray Parker Junior) Last Night I Dreamed of Some Bagels (La Isla Bonita by Madonna) Sparing His Life For His Mum's Sausages (Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen) It's a Fruit, Fruit Samba (Cruel Summer by Bananarama) Mr Tangerine Man (Mr Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan) A literary Colemanballs, THE ANTS ARE MY FRIENDS has all the makings of a quirky Christmas hit -- The Meaning of Tingo for 2007?