suggestive names

[Laurence Horn]

>How many of these can there be ?  I was told in 1973 or ' 74 that
>the pygmies are cunning runts and the nun has a soul full of hope.
>Do the two riddles usually travel in tandem ?
>
>   JL

Another in the category of misogynistic spoonerism riddles involved
the Suez Canal's status as a busy ditch...

LH

>
>Charles Doyle <cdoyle at UGA.EDU> wrote:
>   ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>-----------------------
>Sender: American Dialect Society
>Poster: Charles Doyle
>Subject: Re: suggestive names
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Many of these phrases occur in the minor genre of riddling
>questions that folklorists term "spooneristic conundrums";
>usually they follow the formula "What's the difference
>between x and y?" (or "How is x like y"?). Often, in order
>to accomplish "disingenuous taboo avoidance," only the first
>half of the two-part answer is uttered, leaving the second
>half to be inferred or guessed:
>
>What's the difference between a band of pygmies and a
>women's track team?
>
>What's the difference between a nun and a girl in the
>bathtub?
>
>--Charlie
>__________________________________
>
>---- Original message ----
>>Date: Sat, 10 Jun 2006 17:28:19 -0400
>>From: Benjamin Zimmer
>>Subject: Re: suggestive names
>>To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
>
>>------------------------------------------------------------
>
>>On 6/10/06, Laurence Horn wrote:
>>>
>>>  >Another good example is the chain of bars "Fuddpuckers".
>>>  >
>>>
>>>  cf. "You ain't so muckin' fuch." I guess metathesis is a
>common form
>>>  of disingenuous taboo avoidance...
>>
>>Wikipedia's list of spoonerisms includes many more:
>>
>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_spoonerisms
>>
>>Some might consider it more clever when the spoonerization
>results in
>>actual words, as in "holy shucking fit". There's
>also "Cunning
>>Stunts", which has been used as an album title by at least
>three bands
>>(Caravan in 1975, The Cows in 1991, and Metallica in 1998).
>>
>>--Ben Zimmer
>
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