[Ads-l] the Good News Bad News joke routine

[ADSGarson O'Toole]

The 1871 citation fits the template; however, to heighten the humor
the designations "good news" and "bad news' have been swapped.

Conventional version of the tale:

Bad news: a problem has occurred (Thomas W. Conway...was attacked with
yellow fever)
Good news: the capability to solve the problem has opportunely become
available (Dr. Holcombe is attending Conway, and he is going to get
him well)

Comically inverted version of the tale:

Good news: a problem has occurred (Thomas W. Conway...was attacked
with yellow fever)
Bad news: the capability to solve the problem has opportunely become
available (Dr. Holcombe is attending Conway, and he is going to get
him well)

Garson

On Sun, Jul 7, 2019 at 3:23 PM ADSGarson O'Toole
<adsgarsonotoole at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Here is an anecdote published in 1852 with contrasting "good news" and
> "bad news". The anecdote is intended to be at least mildly humorous; I
> think. The template is:
>
> Bad news: a problem has occurred
> Good news: the capability to solve the problem has opportunely become available
>
> Year: 1852
> Book: Literary Anecdotes and Contemporary Reminiscences of Professor
> Porson and Others
> Author: E. H. Baker (Edmund Henry Barker)
> Volume 1
> Publisher: J.R. Smith, London
> Section: CXIV: Anecdotes of the Rev. T. Barker
> Section Date: 1837
> Quote Page 98 and 99
>
> [Begin excerpt – check for OCR errors]
> He had a female servant, who married a man that was shortly after the
> marriage chosen to serve in the militia. His intimacy with Mr Bethel,
> who was the Colonel of the Regiment, induced him to try to get the
> husband excused from serving; he accordingly proceeded to Mr Bethell's
> seat at Rise, and, as the Colonel was at Scarborough, proceeded
> thither, and succeeded in effecting his object. As he was entering the
> Rectory, on his return to Cherry-Burton, his man-servant met him at
> the gate, and said with a woeful countenance, 'Lord, Sir, I have some
> bad news to tell you, the haystack has fallen down.' 'Never heed,'
> replied MR BARKER, 'I have some good news to prop it up,—I have got
> the man off.'
> [End excerpt]
>
> Garson
>
> On Sun, Jul 7, 2019 at 2:56 PM Arnold M. Zwicky <zwicky at stanford.edu> wrote:
> >
> > > On Jul 7, 2019, at 9:38 AM, Margaret Winters <mewinters at WAYNE.EDU> wrote:
> > >
> > > To follow up with a headline from yesterday's New York Times, The Good News: The Job Market Is Solid. The Bad News: The Job Market Is Solid.
> >
> > excellent.
> >
> > the url you provided, on the other hand, is a thing of evil.
> >
> > arnold
> >
> > ------------------------------------------------------------
> > The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org