...Bananas

[Dennis R. Preston]

Lots of other fruit and vegetable names like this. My favorite was a
19780's (perhaps earlier) Polish riddle:

Q. Why is a Pole like a radish.

A. Because he has only a thin layer of red on the outside.

dInIs

>Thus 1970s UK 'bananas', corrupt policemen, because 'they're 'yellow, bent
>[i.e. corrupt] and hang around in bunches'. There are other negative puns on
>banana, e.g. the term for an Asian who has adopted Western values and is
>'yellow on the otuside and white within' (a la 'apple' and 'oreo'). The
>exception is 1950s Australia's 'banana', a one-pound note which is,
>apparntly 'sweet and acceptable'.
>
>Jonathon Green

--
Dennis R. Preston
Department of Linguistics and Languages
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI 48824-1027 USA
preston at pilot.msu.edu
Office: (517)353-0740
Fax: (517)432-2736