Questions about humorous expressions, jokes, puns, etc.
18
votes
11answers
1k views
Colorful term for someone with a long-overdue library book [closed]
I'm trying to find a humorous term for someone who still has an overdue library book after a number of years. I first came up with "delinquent lendee", but I'm sure there's something more apropos or ...
18
votes
3answers
895 views
Make like a banana
In my area, it's not unusual to hear expressions like
I'm going to make like a banana and split.
...make like a tree and leave.
...make like a baby and head out.
...make like a prom ...
11
votes
2answers
1k views
“Well paint me green and call me a cucumber! I just […]”
Well, [perform some action against me (through which I will be complacent)], and call me a [something humorous which I would then resemble]. [Sincere or feigned exclamation of a recently apparent ...
9
votes
5answers
765 views
9
votes
6answers
224 views
Changing a quotation so that the original is recognised, but has been given a new meaning
I didn't know how to phrase my title to make it meaningful to anyone, and I can't really explain it now, so I shall use an example:
The opening phrase on the DSGB website is "It's counting, Jim, but ...
8
votes
1answer
797 views
“After all 7 8 9” joke?
I know that it is very important to be aware of "hidden meanings" of words and phrases. (Especially if the meaning is sexual.) That is why I love Stephen Colbert's "The Word" segments and usually ...
8
votes
3answers
377 views
What is the best term to categorize a lolcat image and text?
I've seen the captions described as a dialect, patois, "kitty pidgin" and language play which is well and good but doesn't get to the key visual aspect (silly/cute/adorable cats). Wikipedia offers ...
7
votes
5answers
2k views
What does “Stick it up one’s jumper” mean? Why is it funny?
I saw the phrase “Stick something up one’s jumper” in Jeffery Archer’s short story titled “Member’s Only,” in which Robin Chapman, the hero was kept waiting for 5 years and has to wait for another ...
6
votes
2answers
1k views
What is funny in this paraprosdokian?
I was reading the wiki page about paraprosdokians when I come across this sentence.
One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas, how he got in my pajamas, I don't know.
What is funny about it?
6
votes
3answers
187 views
Humour through repeated use of a construct, with a final variation?
I am wondering if there is any name, or well-known example, for a humoristic construct that I particularly enjoy. It is exemplified in this monolog from Pierre Desproges, directed at a woman he was ...
5
votes
4answers
6k views
Please explain this joke about two nuns in a bath
I've heard this joke several times, but I'm ashamed to say I really cannot understand it. It just doesn't seem to make any sense however I look at it.
I have a suspicion that it is supposed to be ...
5
votes
2answers
127 views
“Analogy is the Delaware of Cognition”
I come across this expression in this public lecture "Analogy as the Core of Cognition" by Douglas Hofstadter. ...
4
votes
1answer
132 views
Is there a term for expressions usually rendered as names but are meant to be humorous?
The expressions about which I am asking are used often on "Prairie Home Companion" when the narrator delivers a list of "fake" credits at the end of the show or at the end of a comic bit.
For ...
4
votes
4answers
385 views
Word for a false definition used for comedic effect
Is there a word for a false definition given in jest?
I don't know if such a word exists, but I'm interested to know it if it does.
An example of what I mean would be:
Politics - a latin word ...
3
votes
2answers
314 views
Is the phrase “Take my wife – please!” a paraprosdokian?
I was reading the wiki page about paraprosdokians and I don't understand why the phrase:
Take my wife – please!
is classified as one.
3
votes
1answer
185 views
Intentional double negation
Is there a name for this manner of purposely speaking in double negatives, e.g.
I wouldn't say no to a cup of tea!
I've noticed it as a habit of some people, perhaps often going along with a ...
3
votes
1answer
210 views
3
votes
1answer
128 views
What is this form of humor called? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Is there a name for this type of sentence structure: “She looks as though she's been poured into her clothes, and forgot to say 'when'”?
I'm ...
2
votes
1answer
403 views
Is there a single word meaning “very funny book”?
Sometimes you read a book that has you convulsing with laughter from the moment you pick it up. For me, one of those books was Catch-22 by Joseph Heller. What do you call this?
Perhaps there ...
2
votes
1answer
77 views
What does the phrase “never the mane shall tweet” mean?
It has long been known that birds will occasionally build nests in the
manes of horses. The only known solution to this problem is to
sprinkle baker's yeast in the mane, for, as we all know, ...
1
vote
6answers
1k views
British and American slang words for immigrants?
What slang words or phrases do British/American English speakers use for (poor) immigrants?
1
vote
3answers
133 views
Is “driving the reins” used as a deliberately erroneous phrase?
In her blog post introducing Blog Overflow, the estimable Rebecca Chernoff committed the following, uh, sentence:
Have someone driving the reigns.
After cringing (read: screaming in pain) and ...
0
votes
1answer
159 views
Curious about the type of humour employed by Twitter's @AntiJokeCat? [closed]
Despite my general disregard for Twitter and its adherents, I very much enjoy AntiJokeCat's brand of humour. His/her gags are funny because they seem to subvert the notion of what a joke is and ...
0
votes
0answers
95 views
When is it correct to say “bitch”? [closed]
I've seen this a number of times now, and it's even becoming a verb: bitch-slapping.
When is it acceptable to say "Bitch" or "Bitches"? Is it only for comic relieve or are there other meanings (apart ...
