earworm

Meaning

Noun

• A tune that keeps replaying in one's head or that one keeps thinking about, especially if unwanted.
• (“larva of the moths Helicoverpa zea (species) (syn. Heliothis zea (species)) and Helicoverpa armigera (species), which are agricultural pests”).
• An earwig.

Origin

• From ear + worm; senses 1 and 3 (“tune that keeps replaying in one’s head”; “earwig”) are a (from the idea of a creature burrowing into the ear, an erroneous belief where earwigs are concerned), while sense 2 (“moth larva”) refers to the fact that these pests infest, among other things, ears of maize or sweet corn.