Nonevent

[James A. Landau]

In a message dated 7/16/02 12:06:22 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
editor at VERBATIMMAG.COM writes:

> In Verbatim XXIV/2 they were referred to as "misdivisions." When
>  intentional, they're often called "charades."

"I scream for ice cream!"

The classic example is the warning "to ASSUME something is to make an ASS out
of U and ME".

There are puns that depend on such misdivisions.  My favorite: the people at
ASCAP who keep logs of what copyrighted songs are played on radio and TV have
to study algebra so that they know how to log a rhythm.

Shakespeare's Irish plays: Corrie O'Lanus and O'Thello.

One of the Order of the Turtle gags runs "It begins with the letter 'F'.  It
ends with the letters 'UCK'.  It's quite common; you can see it anytime you
want if you just bother to look."  The correct answer is "Fire truck".

Speaking of charades, a risque cartoon (I think it was in one of Kermit
Schafer's "Bloopers" collections) showed a woman about to enter a charade
contest and finding the word she was to act out was "titwillow".

   If Tennessee
   What Arkansas
   Then what did Delaware?

The following limerick (I'm quoting from fallible memory) was published by a
notoriously straight-laced editor who apparently failed to see the off-color
misdivision in the last line:

     There was a young man from the Clyde
     Who fell through an outhouse and died
          His younger brother
          Then fell through another
     And now they're interred side by side.

             - Jim Landau