The Cross-eyed Bear

One commonly known speech error is the famous 'slip-of-the-tongue,' which can often prove embarrassing in certain situations. A lesser-discussed type of error are the corresponding 'slips-of-the-ear,' which go one step beyond your average misunderstanding and can occasionally lead to the creation of new sentences entirely. The most frequently cited example of this is the well-known song by Jimi Hendrix entitled 'Excuse Me, While I Kiss This Guy." Another might be the alternative version of 'Blowing in the Wind,' which is instead about small insects: 'The ants are my friends, they're blowing in the wind.' Recently, in George Yule's "The Study of Language", I stumbled across the example of a child who returned home from Sunday school to report that everyone was singing about a cross-eyed bear named Gladly. In other words, everyone was singing "Gladly the cross I'd bear."