mysteries of rhetorical nuance

[Jonathan Lighter]

Considering the Bible Belt context, perhaps the allusion to Palin was
indeed intentional and the question not humorous at all.

Perhaps the effective introduction of the phrase as iconic sarcasm was in
the 1999 movie _Fight Club_. (GB has only two earlier exx. of the phrase,
neither as sarcasm.)

As IMDb has it:

"How's that working out for you?...Being clever."
"Great."
"Keep it up then.... [Gets up from airplane seat.] Now a question of
etiquette; as I pass, do I give you the ass or the crotch?"

Ha ha ha ha ha. How do they come up with quips so deft?  Hollywood brims
with genius.


JL

On Mon, Jul 2, 2012 at 6:27 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
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> How do you ever know whether something you see as funny was meant to be
> funny?
> How does somebody writing something funny know for sure it is understood as
> a joke? Sometimes people don't get the joke.
>
> I think it helps, in this case, that we have a recent public figure who
> speaks just like this. (Female. Failed VP candidate. You know who I mean.)
>
> That last bit was mean to be humorous. Maybe it wasn't.
>
> DanG
>
>
> On Mon, 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
> > > -----------------------
> > > 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
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> > >
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> > > 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
> >
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------
> 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."

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