Page 2 of 2

Re: TAUTOLOGY

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2012 5:48 pm
by Philip Hudson
E. Dickinson was agoraphobic and had great difficulty being with people in public places. She was gracious to visitors and wrote many letters. This forum is Alpha Agora, but we don't have conventions in which hundreds of Alphas congregate, although that might be fun. Emily would have delighted to visit all of us in her own drawing room, two or three at a time. Agoraphobic has agora as its first syllable but has a definition that stands alone. I see now that Perry's response was a pun. "Puns are the lowest form of wit and therefore the foundation of all wit," according to one of the famous Henry Erskines. I was surprised that there was more than one of them, and I don’t know which is which. In defending my heroine, my response took Perry's comment literally.

Re: TAUTOLOGY

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2012 6:46 pm
by Perry Lassiter
You should hear my 25 yr old grandson and me deliberately misunderstanding each other with puns, homophones, and semi-similar words. It's humor way more wicked than puns.

Re: TAUTOLOGY

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2012 6:52 pm
by Philip Hudson
English is so strong that we can take all kinds of liberties with it and yet do it no harm. We can also have a lot of fun with it.

Re: TAUTOLOGY

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2012 7:25 pm
by Slava
English is so strong that we can take all kinds of liberties with it and yet do it no harm. We can also have a lot of fun with it.
Blimey, ain't it the tooth!

Re: TAUTOLOGY

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2012 10:05 pm
by Perry Lassiter
Not blimey, blarney. Not tooth, waltzhood!

Re: TAUTOLOGY

Posted: Fri Nov 09, 2012 11:08 pm
by Slava
Not blimey, blarney. Not tooth, waltzhood!
Well, blow me down, I do be confusticated. I must admit to being completely lost on this one. Waltzhood? Care to explainify? :D

Re: TAUTOLOGY

Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 12:33 pm
by Philip Hudson
Slava: When Perry wrote, "Not blimey, blarney. Not tooth, waltzhood!" I think I know what he meant, although Perry can be inscrutable. I think Perry was taking exception to my cavalier attitude about taking liberties with the English language and humorously disagreeing with both you and me. He transmogrified your "Blimey, ain't it the tooth!" to an opposite "Blarney, ain't it the waltzhood!" Here he malaproped falsehood to waltzhood. In committing this raucous outburst, Perry is actually agreeing with us. Am I right Perry?

Re: TAUTOLOGY

Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 2:45 pm
by Perry Lassiter
Got it, Philip, but I gotta work on my inscrutability. Anyone got a screrwdriver?

Re: TAUTOLOGY

Posted: Sat Nov 10, 2012 2:53 pm
by Slava
"Ah, now I see," said the blind carpenter as he picked up his hammer and saw.