does and is

[Jonathan Lighter]

The one I heard in 1975 was "Does a hobby horse have a wooden dick?"

I guess it depends on the manufacturer.

JL

On Wed, Feb 23, 2011 at 4:14 PM, David A. Daniel <dad at pokerwiz.com> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       "David A. Daniel" <dad at POKERWIZ.COM>
> Subject:      Re: does and is
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Does Superman wear blue pajamas?
> Does Pinocchio have a wooden dick?
> Does a one-legged duck swim in a circle?
>
>
> ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
> Subject: Re: does and is (UNCLASSIFIED)
> :      Re: does and is (UNCLASSIFIED)
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ---
>
> At 8:05 PM +0000 2/23/11, Charles C Doyle wrote:
> >In the parlance of folklorists (and a few other sorts of scholars),
> >these expressions are commonly called "sarcastic interrogatives" or
> >"sarcastic interrogative affirmatives" and ". . . negatives."  I
> >myself coined the somewhat awkward terms back in 1975.  A recent
> >discussion:
> >
> >Charles Clay Doyle, "Is the Pope Still Catholic?  Historical
> >Obsrvations on Sarcastic Interrogatives," _Western Folklore_ 67
> >(2008): 5-33.
> >
> >--Charlie
>
> There are also sarcastic conjunctions ("And I'm Marie of
> Romania"--wasn't there a Dorothy Parker poem on this theme?) and
> conditionals ("If p, I'm a monkey's uncle/I'll eat my hat" or the
> earlier "I'm a Dutchman if I do"), although the latter is more
> broadly rhetorical rather than simply sarcastic.
>
> Oh, and we shouldn't forget the blends:
> "Is the bear Catholic?"
> "Does a Pope shit in the woods?"
>
> LH
>
> >
> Wednesday, February 23, 2011 12:50 PM
>
> >---------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> >
> >Does a chicken have lips?  (Quick!! Does it??)
> >
> >Is a pig's *ass* pork?
> >
> >JL
> >
> >On Wed, Feb 23, 2011 at 12:12 PM, William Salmon <
> >wsalmon1 at interchange.ubc.ca> wrote:
> >>
> >>  > Does . .  .
> >>  >
> >>  > A bear shit in the woods
> >>  > A frog have a watertight ass?
> >>  > The pope wear a funny hat?
> >>  > Rose Kennedy have a black dress?
> >>
> >>  #2 actually goes in the 'IS' category for me. Like this: "Is a frog's
> ass
> >>  watertight?"
> >>
> >>  Also, to add to the 'IS' list: "Is a preacher sober on Sunday?"
> >>
> >>  WS
> >>
> >>  > Is . . .
> >>  > The pope Catholic?
> >>  > A pig's pecker pork?
> >>  > A bull's balls beef?
> >
> >
> >--
> >"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
> truth."
> >
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--
"If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."

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