earworm
耳朵虫,耳边风,蠼螋,蠼螋之声
Definitions
- 1
- : a tune or part of a song that repeats in one’s mind.
- 1
- : to work into a person’s mind: The Pepsi jingles have earwormed their way into my head.
Examples
The upbeat earworm “Oxytocin” sees the singer trying out a techno sound paired with vocals reminiscent of Karen O during her Yeah Yeah Yeahs era.
“ASAP” may not be the type of instant earworm that its predecessor, “So Bad,” was, but its charm is undeniable once the song’s melodies take hold.
Both of these songs are earworms that might’ve been top 10 hits in a different place or time.
There are earworms that could double as self-refilling serotonin boosters, while other songs are heart-splitting epiphanies about love, grief, community, and pride.
The opener, “Perfect Us,” is an upbeat earworm as singer Kuhoo Verma — who dexterously tackles all three tunes — is enveloped in a green-screened collage of Americana.
From Lorde to Daft Punk, DJ Earworm seamlessly edited a mashup of the 25 biggest hits of 2013.
“Cups” has had the unlikeliest of journeys to summer earworm.
But in the 1990s, the English word "earworm" gained the meaning "a song or melody that keeps repeating in one's mind."
The newer sense of "earworm" is actually influenced by the German word for this phenomenon—a word that translates to "earworm."
"Earworm" has been around for quite some time to refer to a pest that burrows into the ears of corn.