fan-hitting (classified) (UNCLASSIFIED)

[Laurence Horn]

At 11:06 AM -0700 10/15/08, Jeff Prucher wrote:
>Arnold Zwicky wrote:
>
>>  On Oct 14, 2008, at 1:34 PM, Mark Mandel wrote:
>>
>>>  As it should be, since "feghoot" comes from sf.
>>>
>>>  m a m
>>>
>>>  On Tue, Oct 14, 2008 at 1:04 PM, Mullins, Bill AMRDEC <
>>>  Bill.Mullins at us.army.mil> wrote:
>>>
>>>>  Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED
>>>>  Caveats: NONE
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>>  "feghoot" is not yet in the OED.  should it be?
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>  But it is in _Brave New Words:  The Oxford Dictionary of Science
>>>>  Fiction_ by Jeff Prucher.
>>
>>  so it *comes from* sf,  does this determine how it can/must be used
>>  now?  surely you don't want to maintain such a position.
>>
>>  i have no stake in any of this, but if "feghoot" must be limited to sf
>>  contexts, then how do we talk about these punning/spoonerizing final
>>  lines to jokes, many of which have nothing to do with sf? and some of
>>  which predate the Feghoot stories?
>
>An alternative, non-SFnal, name is "set-up pun".  At least, that's
>what Richard Lederer calls them. (A couple hits in Google Books,
>anway, but fewer than for "feghoot") Set-up pun has the advantage of
>being fairly transparent, but it's not nearly as fun to say.
>
>Jeff Prucher
>
Especially if the former is pronounced with a voiced velar fricative
for the <gh>.

LH

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