Crazy Bone

[Barbara Need]

>> From:         Beverly Flanigan <flanigan at OAK.CATS.OHIOU.EDU>
>>
>> Ditto for Minnesota.  But in southern Ohio I only hear "funny bone" for
>> both elbow and amusing stuff.
>>
>> At 09:53 AM 11/26/00 -0800, you wrote:
>> >Same here, growing up in Portland, OR. I can't recall anyone using "funny
>> >bone" for the elbow.
>> >Allen
>> >maberry at u.washington.edu
>> >
>> >On Sun, 26 Nov 2000, sagehen wrote:
>> >
>> > > >Groing up in the west (N. Cal) the elbow was always a "crazy bone".
>>The
>> > > >"funny bone" was what got tickled when you heard something amusing and
>> > > >laughed, eg:  "Bob and Ray really tickle my funnybone!"
>> > > >
>> > > >Ray Ott
>> > > ----------
>> > > Same here, growing up in Nebraska in the thirties & forties. ( Had
>>to wait
>> > > a couple of decades for the effect of Bob & Ray!)
>> > > A. Murie
>
>
>I'd never heard of 'crazy bone' before this exchange.  I'm wondering if
>there's
>perhaps a generational divide on this.
>
>Lynne, who knows Bob ("Bob and Ray") Elliot only as Chris Elliot's father...
>
>Dr M Lynne Murphy

Oh good, I thought I had been missing something all my life: I also had
never heard "crazy bone" before, and, in fact, only a few days ago I hit
that part of my anatomy, and I'm pretty sure a student asked me if I had
hit my funny bone, and I agreed.

I grew up in Ohio (near Cleveland) and MA (north of Boston).

Barbara Need
UChicago--Linguistics