What condiment did Smashing Pumpkins name a song after in 1993?

The Smashing Pumpkins named their 1993 song “Mayonaise” after mayonnaise. The deliberately altered spelling is the song’s official title, but the condiment being referenced is mayonnaise.

“Mayonaise” appeared on Siamese Dream, the band’s second studio album, and was written by Billy Corgan and James Iha. It was recorded at Triclops Sound Studios between December 1992 and March 1993. The track became one of the album’s most enduring fan favorites despite not originally being issued as a conventional single.

The title’s origin has had several competing explanations. Corgan once offered playful or misleading stories, but later explained that the band had seen a mistranslated lyric from “Rhinoceros” rendered as “mayonnaise seas” in a Japanese fan booklet. The funny mistranslation became a temporary recording title and ultimately stuck. The song’s spelling is therefore “Mayonaise,” while the answer to the trivia question remains the familiar condiment “mayonnaise.”