Strange use of "baby daddy"

[ronbutters at AOL.COM]

I agree that knowledge of the original is helpful. But, again, "baby daddy" means 'father'; "your baby daddy" is ambiguous between '((your) baby daddy)' and '((your baby['s]) daddy).

The ambiguity is always potentially there, though as in the case of parsing ambiguities in general, it is not easy always to see the alternative reading once the first reading is firmly in mind.

Sent from my iPad

On Feb 18, 2011, at 10:21 AM, Randy Alexander <strangeguitars at GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> On Fri, Feb 18, 2011 at 10:04 PM, Victor Steinbok <aardvark66 at gmail.com>wrote:
>
>> It's only clear with the foreknowledge of the original--which is also
>> the only reason this is at all funny. Taken in isolation, it is neither
>> funny nor clear. And if it /were/ clear in isolation, the interpretation
>> would /not/ have been "I am your father."
>
>
> Right.  It seems to me that the writers simply thought it would be funny to
> have Darth Vader say "baby daddy" and didn't think much beyond that.  I'm
> sure a huge amount of the audience either doesn't quite know what one is (I
> didn't know until "baby mama" was discussed here), or aren't the kind of
> people who would think through the fact that it doesn't mean what it should
> in that context.  Hopefully the other parts of the parodies (I have the
> Robot Chicken parodies, but haven't watched them yet) are funnier.
>
> --
> Randy Alexander
> Xiamen, China
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