Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A melody or a portion of a piece of music that is involuntarily repeated in one's mind.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun A tune that is stuck in one's head, especially as unwanted or repetitive.
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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The term "earworm" is a translation of the German word Ohrwurm, used to describe the "musical itch" of the brain.
What's an Earworm? Mary Kate Hurley 2008
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The term "earworm" is a translation of the German word Ohrwurm, used to describe the "musical itch" of the brain.
Archive 2008-06-01 Mary Kate Hurley 2008
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The best cure for earworm is to sing the Wiggles “Hot Potato” to yourself, over and over, until you can displace the offending tune.
Cheeseburger Gothic » Let the word go forth from this time and this place. 2009
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But sometimes a worm, called the earworm, which is like the tomato worm, will appear during June and eat the tips of the young ears.
The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming. Ellen Eddy Shaw
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As to whether the earworm ruined the mood, or a change in mood killed the earworm, that is
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"earworm" - a song that eats its way into your brain and refuses to budge for minutes or hours or days - can be irritating, but it's never been the focus of much study until researchers at the University of Montreal decided to look at obsessive melodies.
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Now to find a way to exploit the "earworm" as a vector of cognitive contagion.
blah blah blah blah blah & etc. greygirlbeast 2010
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What's easier to find -- on Wikipedia at least, though the OED doesn't recognize it -- is the etymological origins of the term "earworm".
Archive 2008-06-01 Mary Kate Hurley 2008
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What's easier to find -- on Wikipedia at least, though the OED doesn't recognize it -- is the etymological origins of the term "earworm".
What's an Earworm? Mary Kate Hurley 2008
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I'm so glad to have the term mondegreen now; it will surely vie with "earworm" for usefulness.
uselessness commented on the word earworm
A song or catchy tune that gets stuck in your head for hours or even days. At first it's fun, but eventually you'll want to kill whatever idiot was responsible for the torture.
<embed src="http://blogfiles.wfmu.org/KG/popcorn/boston-pops-Popcorn.mp3" autostart="true" hidden="true" volume="35" loop="true" />
May 30, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
"Medications that are used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder or anxiety can alleviate the symptoms of earworms."
Thus spake Wikipedia. But really--can these medications eliminate the person responsible for planting the damn thing in your head? I think not.
May 31, 2007
amcd56 commented on the word earworm
Oooooh - that was mean.
May 31, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word earworm
I like the soundtrack. :)
May 31, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
Not mean--just truthful. :-) And besides, it's usually not a person anyway, at least not for me. It's some inanimate object like, say, a CD. Which makes it my fault in the first place!
May 31, 2007
amcd56 commented on the word earworm
I meant that it was mean to put that song into my head for me to hear all day. (:
June 1, 2007
uselessness commented on the word earworm
Which, of course, was fully my intent. I hide proudly behind the anonymity of the internet.
June 1, 2007
slumry commented on the word earworm
Remember "I had a little peanut, a little peanut...it was rotten...etc, (ad nauseum)" It is a wonder my brother didn't kill me over that. And if not that, "Have you seen the ghost of Tom...long white bones with the skin all gone..." or something like that. . .
June 18, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
Here's a good suggestion. ;-)
July 6, 2007
slumry commented on the word earworm
That's good, R! I guess I was out of pocket five days ago!
July 11, 2007
slumry commented on the word earworm
This is a useful and colorful word, but every time it comes up, it gives me the creeps--I guess I have had a too-vivid imagination about earwigs!
July 12, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word earworm
Me too, slumry. Eee, it just todally skeeves me out.
October 12, 2007
rocksinmypockets commented on the word earworm
I just love the fact the the listing comes with it's own infecting, infesting little earworm.
October 15, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word earworm
But will you still love it tomorrow?
October 15, 2007
rocksinmypockets commented on the word earworm
Perhaps I should have said that I love it in theory. It is a clever little twist, and so perfectly appropriate for the listing.
Oh, hell, I'm probably enough of a dork to still love it tomorrow, who am I kidding?
October 15, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
Wait a minute--there's an earworm playing on this page? Or am I misunderstanding?
October 15, 2007
seanahan commented on the word earworm
There used to be an earworm playing here. I think it was removed.
October 15, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
Thanks, seanahan. For a second, I thought I was being gaslighted. Though it took me long enough to realize it. ;-)
October 15, 2007
npydyuan commented on the word earworm
No. It's still playing.
And playing.
And playing....
October 15, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
Weird. Neither of the computers I use lets me hear it. I suppose that should be considered a good thing.
Wait! I spoke to soon. Now I hear it.
October 15, 2007
john commented on the word earworm
One effective way to remove an earworm is to sing--to yourself, unless you want people to think you're crazy--the smurph's song. It's like an inoculation--it's close to being an earworm, but it isn't. But if you hum a few bars ("la la la la la la, sing a happy song..."), it'll dislodge another one.
October 15, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
NOOOOOOOOOOO! *clutches head*
October 15, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word earworm
I think the "Chicken Dance" tune is the worst earworm ever.
October 15, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
"It's a Small World After All" can drive me to drink.
October 15, 2007
wizmical commented on the word earworm
visual effects: ff to 2:56
October 15, 2007
npydyuan commented on the word earworm
Personal worst earworm song: "Big Rock Candy Mountain" from O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack.
October 15, 2007
uselessness commented on the word earworm
By worst, npydyuan, I think you mean best. Of course.
October 15, 2007
npydyuan commented on the word earworm
Oh, of course. And now I have in my head a slurry of all these bits of ditties swimming around... like an auditory analog of the miasma from the Kmart receiving room I worked in, long ago, particularly the area where health & beauty aids overlapped with all the candies & gums, which was never quite far enough away from the trash compactor!
October 15, 2007
uselessness commented on the word earworm
...the bulldogs all have rubber teeth and the hens lay soft-boiled eggs...
October 15, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
Must...leave...earworm...page....
October 16, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word earworm
There ain't no short-handled shovels, no axes, saws, or picks...
October 16, 2007
npydyuan commented on the word earworm
Aaaaaaaaighhh!!!! Make it stop!!!!!
October 16, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word earworm
...where they hung the jerk that invented work...
October 16, 2007
npydyuan commented on the word earworm
Why? Why is the bear torturing me?
October 16, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word earworm
There's a lake of stew, and of whiskey too, you can paddle all around them in a big canoe...
October 16, 2007
npydyuan commented on the word earworm
IN THE BIG ROCK CANDY MOUNTAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
*collapses in quivering heap*
October 16, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
Clearly, someone unchained the bear.
October 16, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word earworm
I have a student named Quinn this year. I've been playing Quinn the Eskimo in my head ever since planning week. Every time I call the child's name, it starts over.
Moral: Don't name your child Quinn.
October 16, 2007
rocksinmypockets commented on the word earworm
What always works for me, in terms of getting rid of earworms, is humming my favorite childhood song. It never gets stuck, but it has enough oomph to derail the worm. I think the smurf song would just be another earworm for me.
And, I have to agree with npydyuan on Big Rock Candy Mountain. Ug!
October 16, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
I just use the old Torture Your Sibling trick. Walk through the room where some unsuspecting victim is innocently working, reading, or otherwise engaged, start humming the earworm, walk out as you're finishing the hummed tune, and poof! Earworm has been transferred to its next host.
It's not nice, but it's effective. Hey, you have to save yourself.
P.S. John, we definitely need some earworm merch. ;-)
October 16, 2007
rocksinmypockets commented on the word earworm
But can we add this soundtrack to the earworm merch? Teeheehee.
October 16, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
Somehow I think it could happen, what with John and uselessness on the case. :-P
October 16, 2007
npydyuan commented on the word earworm
Yeah, Big Rock Candy Mountain.... but Lisa Loeb does a very pleasantly ethereal version of it, I must say. Got it from iTunes, off some children's album.
October 16, 2007
uselessness commented on the word earworm
It's hardly a children's song, really, other than the part about candy.
October 16, 2007
npydyuan commented on the word earworm
I think she may have changed some of the words a little bit. My eldest daughter wanted it, so I said okay 'cause I was tired of listening to the Wonder Pets theme song.... There's an animal in trouble! (There's an animal in twouble...)! (Cue 5- and 3-year-old paroxysms.)
October 16, 2007
jennarenn commented on the word earworm
The soundtrack is back! Who did that?
*huming along*
October 18, 2007
uselessness commented on the word earworm
I think it's a matter of the remote server coming and going. It's not the most reliable place to load music from. ;-)
October 18, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
Thank heavens for small blessings. ;->
October 18, 2007
rocksinmypockets commented on the word earworm
What is the soundtrack, anyway? I might want to get a copy. :D
October 19, 2007
uselessness commented on the word earworm
It's called "Popcorn," originally recorded by the band Hot Butter. Because of its notoriety as an obnoxious earworm, it's been covered probably more than any other song ever. There are so many versions floating around, it's not even funny. Here are 79 of them you can download. I have no idea what version is playing on this page, they're all the same to me. More information (and still more versions to download) available here.
October 19, 2007
angharad commented on the word earworm
Why is this tagged "shirt"? If that's an earworm, I don't get it.
October 19, 2007
uselessness commented on the word earworm
See discussion at shirt. It means we want earworm merch. :-)
October 19, 2007
jrome commented on the word earworm
I gotta say, there's another ditty that can play all day round here: Lady (Here me tonight) by MoDJo. Hear song and see video under lady
October 20, 2007
rocksinmypockets commented on the word earworm
Oh my, that's great. Thanks for the smorgasbord of annoyingly peppy music, uselessness! No wonder it seemed so familiar and yet hard to place.
October 20, 2007
sonofgroucho commented on the word earworm
That has to be the ultimate earworm song!!
October 24, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word earworm
Another fine example: the Wallace & Gromit theme.
October 30, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
Oh no! Now it's running through my head!
October 30, 2007
cathari commented on the word earworm
I had never heard Popcorn before, and I was so curious I had to go listen to it. Tellurian's reaction was "you want to give yourself an earworm?"
Now that I've played it a few times through, though, I kind of feel bad for my cats, who probably have it now...
October 31, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
I don't know, cathari. Seems to me that cats would be clever enough to have a way to obliterate earworms the second they hear them. ;-)
October 31, 2007
chained_bear commented on the word earworm
Some BASTARD just sent me to a site that plays the Monster Mash. DAMMIT!!!
October 31, 2007
sonofgroucho commented on the word earworm
Now that is just cruel!
October 31, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
Well, if nothing else, you'll have a seasonally appropriate earworm...TODAY, anyway. :-|
November 1, 2007
reesetee commented on the word earworm
This just in:
Feb 13, 2008 12:00 ET
Berlitz to Launch New Language Learning Program, Earworms MBT
Best-Selling Audio-Book Uses Catchy Tunes to Teach Foreign Languages
NEW YORK, Feb. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Berlitz is pleased to announce the addition of the best-selling range of audio-books, Earworms Musical Brain Trainer (MBT). Renowned as one of the world's premier foreign language organizations, Berlitz is bringing this groundbreaking concept to North American retail outlets beginning March 2008.
Earworms MBT takes an entirely new and innovative approach to language learning. Based on the science behind catchy songs that become stuck in one's head (the auditory cortex), Earworms works by pairing melodic music with soft spoken foreign words, phrases and their translations. The result: an incredibly effective method for learning conversational foreign languages by simply listening. Unlike other language programs, which require intense grammar exercises and repetitive drills, the Earworms method requires minimum concentration. The trainer is user-friendly, effective, and relaxing, allowing the listener to unwind while simultaneously learning a new language.
God help us.
February 16, 2008
sionnach commented on the word earworm
That's just plain kreepy, r_t!
Deutschland, Deutschland uber a-ha-lles,
uber alle-es in de-her Welt....
One can be sure that they will have kreepily chipper salesfolks in airline terminals throughout the land. perhaps we can look forward to some pitched battles between them and the Rosetta Stone Drones ...
Myself, I'm learning Italian because, as a simple peasant boy, it's gonna be my key to meeting hot supermodels and impressing them with my syntactical synergies...
Dove il gabinetto, per piacere?
February 16, 2008
reesetee commented on the word earworm
It is creepy, in a sort of ingenious way. What will earworms be teaching us next? ;-)
February 17, 2008
mialuthien commented on the word earworm
Eugh, just eugh. Please be advised not to use this word in a conversation with me. I have a ****-phobia (what's the correct word for it?). It's an apt coinage, but an ugly word *totally grossed-out* *selective memory on*
July 29, 2008
dontcry commented on the word earworm
Mia -- do you have an 'ear' phobia or a 'worm' phobia?
July 29, 2008
mialuthien commented on the word earworm
The latter, Dontcry, and I'm not joking :/
BTW, who on earth has an ear phobia? And what do they do, then – cut their ears off? Ow.
July 29, 2008
dontcry commented on the word earworm
Cutting off of ears! Absurd!
July 29, 2008
Prolagus commented on the word earworm
It should be helmintophobia helminthophobia, Mia.
July 30, 2008
mialuthien commented on the word earworm
Thanks, P. I knew it had a name, and now I have one more ****-related name to watch out for!
This would have been listed as my "least favorite word", if I could stand to have it on my profile.
July 30, 2008
dharma66 commented on the word earworm
This is what my mental radio came up with this AM!
"Sex is natural. Sex is fun. Sex is better when it's one on one. (I want your sex)" AAAaaarrrrgggh!!
*backs away from keyboard... hums the alphabet*
October 23, 2008
garyth123 commented on the word earworm
a lady at amazon introduced me to this word in September 08.
December 9, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word earworm
Oh, Wordie's got her beat. :)
December 9, 2008
bilby commented on the word earworm
Let's ... do ... the Earworm ... again!!!
It's just a jump to the left --
December 9, 2008
reesetee commented on the word earworm
And then a step to the right....
December 9, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word earworm
Put your hands on your hips!
December 9, 2008
pterodactyl commented on the word earworm
And bring your knees in ti-i-iight!
December 10, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word earworm
*waits to see who will post the "pelvic thrust" lyric*
December 10, 2008
reesetee commented on the word earworm
*bellowing*
But it's the pelvic thrust that really drives you insane!
December 10, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word earworm
Let's do the Tiiiime Warrrrp agaaaaaaaain!!
December 11, 2008
bilby commented on the word earworm
What's this Time Warp? We're doing The Earworm here.
December 11, 2008
reesetee commented on the word earworm
Oh, right. Do I have to stop bellowing?
December 11, 2008
bilby commented on the word earworm
listen closely
not for very much longer
you've got to
keep control
December 11, 2008
oroboros commented on the word earworm
I don't know how this really contributes to the conversations on this page, but I'm puttin' it here anyway!
Earworm Protection?
March 17, 2009
bilby commented on the word earworm
ORO! YOU DEVIOUS SO-AND-SO! AARGGH! AUTOPLAY! OR WAS IT THE USELESSNESS?! AARRGGGGHHH!
March 17, 2009
reesetee commented on the word earworm
That's the uselessness. He's forever marked this page as infamous.
March 17, 2009
oroboros commented on the word earworm
Que Sera, Sera's been the earworm curse para mi, par excellence! For some idiot reason, always in the shower...go figure!
March 18, 2009
bilby commented on the word earworm
The most honest earworm I can think of is ELO's 'I Can't Get It Out Of My Head'.
June 16, 2009
reesetee commented on the word earworm
Haha! Perfect.
June 17, 2009
bilby commented on the word earworm
Stop.
September 19, 2009
bilby commented on the word earworm
Hey, uselessness's Popcorn doesn't autoplay any more :-(((
November 19, 2009
bilby commented on the word earworm
Although we now have this vexample:
"But sometimes a worm, called the earworm, which is like the tomato worm, will appear during June and eat the tips of the young ears." — The Library of Work and Play: Gardening and Farming.
November 19, 2009
uselessness commented on the word earworm
The loss of the autoplaying earworm is one of the Great Tragedies of our time.
November 19, 2009
john commented on the word earworm
No promises, but that might be reversible.
November 19, 2009
uselessness commented on the word earworm
If we could embed videos, I would embed this one.
January 16, 2010
PossibleUnderscore commented on the word earworm
*humming*
January 16, 2010
hernesheir commented on the word earworm
Got an earworm? I'll sell you an early earbird to pluck it out. That's the ticket.
January 16, 2010
PossibleUnderscore commented on the word earworm
I can't believe that would be very pleasant.
January 16, 2010
Prolagus commented on the word earworm
Let your balalaika sing what my guitar wants to sing...
July 1, 2010
ruzuzu commented on the word earworm
While my guitar gently weeps....
July 1, 2010
bilby commented on the word earworm
Putin.
April 13, 2011
hernesheir commented on the word earworm
"What has caused the decrease in earnings?", in the shorthand of railroad telegraphy. --US Railway Association, Standard Cipher Code, 1906, p.217.
January 22, 2013
MaryW commented on the word earworm
Oliver Sacks, Musicophilia: Tales of Music and the Brain (New York: Vintage Books, 2007), p. 41Id., p. 42.Id., endnote 13.January 30, 2016