Word(s) that only ever appeared in one (hit) song, ever.

"Mister Punchinello" from Ebeneezer Goode though.

“Wedding coat” in “The River.”

"goddness" in "Venus" by Shocking Blue (because of a typo on the lyric sheet)

Another "mumps" pops up in "Peanut Butter" by The Marathons, a #20 hit in June of 1964. The liner notes to this Chess records compilation note its "hit" status and suggest it was a bit of a Coasters soundalike; perhaps the band specifically had "Poison Ivy" on the brain. (Speaking as a non-expert on the genres represented, I find this a great comp, alongside Chess's "Rock 'n' Roll" and "Rhythm & Blues" ones - one great song after another!)

Fun side story: those same liner notes also establish that the Marathons were actually The Vibrations, recording under an alias in a one-off moonlighting arrangement with another record company. After it charted, Leonard Chess (who had the Vibrations under contract) won the record and its royalties from the rival company in court.

Further online digging reveals that, complicating things further, the Vibrations were previously known as the Jay Hawks, and in that capacity were the first of a quick spree of acts to have a hit with "Stranded in the Jungle" in the mid-50s. Later, under the Vibrations moniker, they were again one of the first to score a minor hit with a "Watusi" title, before the Orlons delivered the much bigger "The Wah-Watusi." Another couple of years go by and then the Vibrations were the first act to record "My Girl Sloopy," taking it to #26 in 1964 before it went to #1 for the McCoys as "Hang on Sloopy" in 1965. The McCoys, in turn, were a group engineered out of thin air by the moderately successful Strangeloves, with the help of another band called Rick and the Raiders. Why? Well, I'm not actually clear on the legal/financial/branding logic in play, but it seems it had somehow to do with the Strangeloves already being on the charts with "I Want Candy" for some other (probably dubious) reason related to the simultaneous chart presence of the Strangeloves' "I Want Candy," which peaked at #11 but of course is now more of a footnote precursor to Bow Wow Wow's indelible cover from seventeen years later, which peaked much lower on the US charts but has become a cultural staple.

Showbiz!

My head hurt the last time I tried to think about all that stuff.

ugh that last sentence got away from me in the editing process

Can we maybe talk about "Vindicated"?

dashboard confessional vindicated lyrics https://g.co/kgs/c1GDza

"Crevice" in "Chestnut Mare" by the Byrds, which was a hit in the UK if not in the US.

He probably should have said "crevasse" there, even though that part of the song sounds like a hallucination where anything goes

Heard "Don't Sleep in the Subway" on the radio today: "wherefore."

"Wherefore art thou Romeo" in If I Only Had a Heart from The Wizard of Oz.

Probably not the only song that quotes that line, I'd imagine.

Although actually the line in "Subway" is "...whys or wherefores", so you win.

I’m quite certain "bescumber" hasn’t ever been used outside of Scott Walker's "Fetish".

Hard to walk into a CVS without hearing that one!

Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction" has "coagulatin'".

"Steed" in "Daydream Believer"?

Also, though it was by no means a hit record, the lyrics to Peter Sinfield's Still contain several words I had to look up: "woad", "cruets", "speiss" and "cochineal".

Those last four probably made an appearance in a Cocteau Twins song sometime.

I find it amazing the "prerogative" pops up in not one but two huge hits songs, at least.

"Snorting" in "Drive-In Saturday" - an apt word given Bowie's recreational habits at the time.

not a "hit" i guess but i think it's played on classic-rock stations in america a lot - personally i'd never heard it 'til a coupla years ago - but billy joel's "captain jack" contains the word "masturbate" which i'd probly never heard on the radio before

respect

"Creasin'" in "Mixed Emotions" by the Rolling Stones.

Haha, I’d never looked at the lyrics to “Mixed Emotions” before. That is an unexpected lyric. “To-ing” and “fro-ing” from the same song might qualify too.

There is a choral song that we performed in my high school choir that includes “toing” and “froing” but I cannot remember much beyond something like

“oh vidroshki’s herds you wander
through the matra hills and yonder
hunting toing and froing”

the bass melody still stuck in my head but no dice googling. not sure it counts anyway, since not a hit song— just made me think of it.

"To feel a pulsing from chanter to mountain"

Spandau Ballet - Musclebound

Queen's March Of The Black Queen: "Everything you do bears a will and a why and a wherefore"

Not sure it was a hit per se but Clifford T. Ward's 1973 single "Wherewithal" includes a couple of likely candidates: "wherewithal," "nonpareil"

I don't know where this thread stands on possibly invented words, but Rosie Vela's "Magic Smile" (top 30 hit on the UK and US AC charts) has "keenovay", which I think she said at the time was an Indigenous term for sexual congress.

Oh boy, do I have a thread for you:

Rusted Root Neologisms

ommaway

oombasayou

bubadasayoububadeeyon

Does "Dynasty" appear outside "Kiss"?

“TV Party” (EP version)

Was "TV Party" a hit song?

'Percentage' in "Hold Me" by Fleetwood Mac

%-age is in Traffic "Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys," well-known but not exactly a hit.

I wonder if any other hit songs contain the name 'Adolf', other than Games Without Frontiers.

The Hitler Rap (To Be or Not to Be)

Whereas Britt ...

Two contenders from Ray Stevens' Mr. Businessman (US #28): 'sinuses' and 'harlot'.

It also opens with 'itemise', but ofc that word was revived a generation hence by the Manics. A two hit word maybe?

"Bonaparte" in Gilbert's Nothing Rhymed?

Bonaparte also in the polish national anthem...

"Bonaparte's Retreat" was a #4 hit for Kay Starr, US Billboard 100, 1950. Later a minor hit for Glen Campbell.

I was recently doing an NYT crossword and got the clue "oil-based paste mentioned in 'Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds.'" Plasticene.

This led me on a slight detour through some Elvis Costello lyrics that include Bakelite and cellophane ("No Action" - not a hit - and "Watching the Detectives" - which reached #15).

"The Other End of the Telescope" barely charted but has a line about "a shellac of Chopin."

"Cellophane," beyond "Lucy" and "Watching the Detectives," also pops up in the opening line of SR-71's "Right Now" (#2 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart).

"hen fap"

Doctor C., upon reflection, "cellophane" is also in "Abacab."

In this regard it may be one of the more common uncommon words in hit songs.

To stick with the topic of industrially useful chemical compounds, "Tramp the Dirt Down" includes "tarmacadam," which may be its only appearance.

How do we feel about proper names? Sting has Krushchev and Pinochet; Costello has Chamberlain and Oswald.

Benny Hill's "Ernie (The Fastest Milkman in the West)" has 'clatter', 'milkcart', 'pasturized', 'macaroon', 'crumpets', 'goldtop'.

... no. 1 single in the UK btw.

In general proper names might be a little too 'easy,' but they can be still fun imho. "Khrushchev" is on both "Killer Queen" and "We Didn't Start the Fire," sadly.

Surely "pasteurized" shows up somewhere else --- isn't in some sneering 60s and/or new wave song about the minds of people with dumb mainstream ideas, etc.?

Bravo for finally unseating "macaroon" from "Sweet City Woman," which I put forth almost ten years back!

How about "anaesthetized" from "Radio Radio"?

Or, rather, "anaesthetize"?

tbh 70's UK novelty hits (like "Ernie") are a gold mine for this thread, just off the top of my head there's "Matchstalk Men and Matchstalk Cats and Dogs" by Brian and Michael - another no. 1, folks - yes, you read that right, matchstalk.