dookie

[David Bowie]

From:    Wilson Gray <wilson.gray at RCN.COM>

<snip>

: About a quarter-century ago, wasn't something similar to the following
: conundrum being heard in linguistic circles?

: A. A piece of shit and a turd are the same thing, right?
: B. Right.
: A. And if you cut a piece of shit in two, you get two pieces of shit,
: right?
: B. Right.
: A. But, if you cut a turd in two, you don't get two turds, right?
: B. Right.
: A. Explain.

Admitting further embarassment to this list, but i don't get it. For me, the
answer to "...you don't get two turds, right?" would be "No, you do."

So am i just clueless, or is this some dialect difference i've never heard
of?

FWIW, i have a student in my office (a 4.0 student who taught her bird to
say "poopy", so she presumably has some expertise here :-) who agrees with
my intuitions here.

David Bowie                                         http://pmpkn.net/lx
    Jeanne's Two Laws of Chocolate: If there is no chocolate in the
    house, there is too little; some must be purchased. If there is
    chocolate in the house, there is too much; it must be consumed.