SORE THUMBS

A list of unlikely words (collated from the little quizzes elsewhere on the site, and updated) which have turned up in the lyrics of UK Number 1 hit songs:

enchilada (Mambo Italiano by Rosemary Clooney)
fuzzy (All Shook Up by Elvis Presley)
plumb (Claudette by The Everley Brothers)
cement (Mack the Knife by Bobby Darin)
lulu (Rock-a-Hula Baby by Elvis Presley)
snitch (Little Children by Billy J Kramer)
farmyard (Little Red Rooster by The Rolling Stones)
socks (Eleanor Rigby by The Beatles)
merry-go-round (Puppet on a String by Sandie Shaw)
seasick (Whiter Shade of Pale by Procol Harum)
eskimo (The Mighty Quinn by Manfred Mann / Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick by Ian Dury and the Blockheads / The Chicken Song by Spitting Image)
tavern (Those Were the Days by Mary Hopkin)
paraffin (Lily the Pink by The Scaffold)
embassy (Where Do You Go To, My Lovely? by Peter Sarstedt)
acorns (The Ballad of John and Yoko by The Beatles)
Clyde (The Isrealites by Desmond Dekker)
playmate (Two Little Boys by Rolf Harris)
mules (Wand'rin Star by Lee Marvin)
Pagliacci (Tears of a Clown by Smokey Robinson)
smog (Woodstock by Matthews’ Southern Comfort)
Chaplin (Grandad by Clive Dunn)
yoghurt (Ernie by Benny Hill)
corkscrew (Telegram Sam by T.Rex)
linen (Vincent by Don McLean / Bring Your Daughter... by Iron Maiden)
bugle (Fernando by Abba)
apron (No Charge by JJ Barrie)
khaki (Up Town Top Ranking by Althia and Donna)
Ancoats (Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs by Brian and Michael)
Arapaho (Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick by Ian Dury and the Blockheads / The Chicken Song by Spitting Image)
bullhorn (I Don't Like Mondays by The Boomtown Rats / Rubber Bullets by 10CC)
manure (Too Much Too Young by The Specials)
textbooks (Going Underground by The Jam)
gorgon (House of Fun by Madness)
towel (Geno by Dexy’s Midnight Runners)
Glasgow (Super Trouper by Abba)
combie (Down Under by Men At Work)
Renoir (The Reflex by Duran Duran)
Doris (Wake Me Up Before You Go Go by Wham!)
biscuits (Two Tribes by Frankie Goes To Hollywood)
starboard (Star Trekkin by The Firm)
capitan (La Bamba by Los Lobos)
Cebu (Orinoco Flow by Enya)
gallow (Belfast Child by Simple Minds)
copywritten* (The Power by Snap)
pompatus** (The Joker by The Steve Miller Band)
sierra (Deeply Dippy by Right Said Fred)
squirrel (Oh Carolina by Shaggy)
mothballs (Do The Bartman by The Simpsons)
fireplace (Don’t Look Back in Anger by Oasis)
psychosomatic (Breathe by The Prodigy)
sangria (Perfect Day by Various Artists)
bosom (Brimful of Asha by Cornershop)
huff (C’est La Vie by B*Witched)
Christianity (Survivor by Destiny’s Child)
chinchilla (Crazy In Love by Beyonce)

* a word which does not really exist
** the story behind this odd word is complex but, in a nutshell, Miller misheard and borrowed the word from an old song by a band named The Medallions. The actual word sung was ‘puppetutes’, a word coined by the song’s writer and meaning ‘good-looking girls’.