mysteries of rhetorical nuance

[Neal Whitman]

I've been wondering if anyone asks that question non-rhetorically these days. I gradually became aware of it with Sarah Palin asking how that hopey changey thing was workin' out for us. I also found a rhetorical "And how did that work out for you?" in an episode of Lost from about the same time. Has someone traced the origin of this sarcastic way of saying some idea of yours has clearly failed?

Neal

On Jul 2, 2012, at 6:12 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      Re: mysteries of rhetorical nuance
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> But how do I know that? And did the writer?
>
> JL
>
> On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 2:58 PM, Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
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>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>> Poster:       Dan Goncharoff <thegonch at GMAIL.COM>
>> Subject:      Re: mysteries of rhetorical nuance
>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> Didn't you answer you own question?
>>
>> "carefully chosen to be wry
>> and suggestive rather than solemn and direct"
>>
>> DanG
>>
>>
>> On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 2:49 PM, Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at gmail.com
>>> wrote:
>>
>>> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
>>> -----------------------
>>> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
>>> Poster:       Jonathan Lighter <wuxxmupp2000 at GMAIL.COM>
>>> Subject:      mysteries of rhetorical nuance
>>>
>>>
>> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>>
>>> As I drove down a shady lane the other day, I noticed a small church by
>> the
>>> roadside, which exhibited rhetorically remarkable marquee.
>>>
>>> It said,
>>>
>>> LIFE WITHOUT JESUS
>>> HOW'S THAT WORKING OUT FOR YOU?
>>>
>>> I laughed. The idiom framing the question seemed carefully chosen to be
>> wry
>>> and suggestive rather than solemn and direct, like those I've seen on
>> many
>>> similar marquees.
>>>
>>> Essay 1: Precisely what is the incongruity that makes the question seem
>>> intentionally humorous? How might one explain the nuance to a non-native
>>> speaker?
>>>
>>> Essay 2: What are the chances that the letterer didn't see anything funny
>>> or unusual about it?
>>>
>>> JL
>>> --
>>> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the
>> truth."
>>>
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>>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>>
>>
>> ------------------------------------------------------------
>> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>>
>
>
>
> --
> "If the truth is half as bad as I think it is, you can't handle the truth."
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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