paraprosdokian

Use this forum to discuss past Good Words.
Audiendus
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paraprosdokian

Postby Audiendus » Wed Feb 02, 2011 7:31 pm

Democracy is the worst form of government - except for all the others. [Winston Churchill]

I have a soft spot for politicians - a bog in the west of Ireland. [Dave Allen, the Irish comedian]

He went to a good school - it was approved. [Old British joke]

This autobiography is incredibly good - it's a pack of lies.

If you read the Bible, God helps you. If you don't, God help you.

LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Thu Feb 03, 2011 2:30 pm

You're never to old to learn something stupid.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

MTC
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Postby MTC » Thu Feb 03, 2011 3:29 pm

One of mine: "He inherited his brains from his father--in formaldehyde." (re Glen Beck)

misterdoe
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Postby misterdoe » Wed Mar 16, 2011 1:49 pm

From a recent email from StrangeCosmos.com: "Don't hit a man with glasses -- hit him with a baseball bat."

LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Wed Mar 16, 2011 2:33 pm

A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where
a train stops. My desk is a work station.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

Stargzer
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Postby Stargzer » Tue Mar 22, 2011 11:07 pm

I recently found an example of this Good Word in use:
Emo Philips (born February 7, 1956 as Phil Soltanec) is an American entertainer and comedian born in the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove. Much of his standup comedy stems from the use of paraprosdokians and garden path sentences spoken in a wandering falsetto tone of voice and a confused, childlike delivery of his material to produce the intended comic timing in a manner invoking the 'wisdom of children' or the idiot savant. ...
For those enamored of his humor there's a link to Wikiquote with a collection of Philips' quotes, including one about two Baptists that I heard long ago but whose source I didn't know. I swear though that when I heard it, it was about two Civil War soldiers, Yankee and Confederate, arguing at the edge of a cliff. Either way it had the same punch line. Follow the link to his web site to find the earliest Emo Philips film, from 1983.
Regards//Larry

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of the people always possess arms, and be taught alike, especially when young, how to use them."
-- Attributed to Richard Henry Lee

LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Wed Apr 06, 2011 11:42 am

One of mine: "He inherited his brains from his father--in formaldehyde." (re Glen Beck)

Somehow missed this: I really like it, hope it is not
copyrighted, as I'd like to use it.

(Did it originate with Beck, or is it a reference to him
{"re"})?
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

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Slava
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Postby Slava » Wed Apr 06, 2011 11:51 am

One of mine: "He inherited his brains from his father--in formaldehyde." (re Glen Beck)

Somehow missed this: I really like it, hope it is not
copyrighted, as I'd like to use it.

(Did it originate with Beck, or is it a reference to him
{"re"})?
I just tried Yahoo and Google, and neither one has a reference to it. Except that Google does show this post.
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Wed Apr 06, 2011 12:14 pm

Perhaps MTC is just referring to Beck.
I am not in much love with that commentator myself.
Not to get into arguments over politics, but once
he castigated offenders when on another network,
and showed over and over the ovens Hitler used to
eliminate people he did not like. That totally turned
me off. He has his opinion, and I have the right to
not watch nor listen to him.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

misterdoe
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Postby misterdoe » Wed Dec 14, 2011 7:59 pm

Alec Baldwin, in a 30 Rock promo: "I got to witness the birth of a foal. It was delicious..."

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bamaboy56
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Postby bamaboy56 » Thu Dec 15, 2011 1:34 am

One of my favorites from Groucho:
Groucho (to woman): I need to speak to your husband. I'll go get him.
Woman: My husband's dead.
Groucho: Oh, in that case YOU go get him.
Cant' remember which movie that came from.
Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I'm going to change myself. -- Rumi

LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Fri Dec 16, 2011 12:26 pm

Whenever I fill out a form, in the part that says:
, "In case of emergency, notify...." I put: DOCTOR.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

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Slava
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Postby Slava » Sat Jan 07, 2012 9:29 pm

For more on this GWoTD, here's the take from Quinion's World Wide Words: http://www.worldwidewords.org/nl/fnwb.htm#N2
Life is like playing chess with chessmen who each have thoughts and feelings and motives of their own.

LukeJavan8
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Postby LukeJavan8 » Sun Jan 08, 2012 12:31 pm

It is a rather difficult word to pronounce, when and if
it ever enters the dictionary and after a century or
more of use, it will probably evolve into something else.
-----please, draw me a sheep-----

misterdoe
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Postby misterdoe » Tue May 01, 2012 4:45 pm

From comedian and college professor (!) Yakov Smirnoff, to Johnny Carson: "I enjoy being in America: it's fun, you know, because you have so many things we never had in Russia — like warning shots."


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