“Ear Worm”
💭 Meaning
An “ear worm” is a song, melody, or jingle that gets stuck in your head, playing on repeat whether you want it to or not.
✍️ Examples
Henry couldn't focus on writing his guidebook chapter because the jingle from a college's admissions ad became a total ear worm.
The student joked that her school's fight song was such an ear worm., she caught herself humming it during her interview.
Henry's new favorite song became an instant ear worm. for the entire family after just one car ride.
📜 Origin
The term is a direct translation of the German word “Ohrwurm" (literally “ear worm"), which was originally used to describe a small insect once believed to crawl into people's ears—a folk myth dating back centuries. The word was borrowed into English in a figurative sense by the late 20th century, popularized partly through psychological and marketing research on catchy tunes in the 1980s and 1990s. By the 2000s, “ear worm" had become the standard English term for a song that latches onto your brain and refuses to let go.
