Rolls off the Tongue

ARTSY FARTSY The hanger of my art displays the anger of my...

Sat, 25 May 2013 17:44:42 -0400

ARTSY FARTSY

The hanger of my art displays the anger of my heart

What’s so funny about this? OK it’s not funny. I admit it, but it is a spoonerism and we haven’t done one in a while. It does raise the question as to whether all wordplays have to be funny. Is it enough if they are just clever and true? Look at poetry, that’s certainly not always funny. Funny helps but it’s not always necessary. Rhyming creates a certain feeling in our brains that I can’t describe; I can only say it makes me feel “something”; it touches an emotional chord, if you will. Puns too rarely make people laugh out loud. In fact a groan is a more appropriate to a pun than a laugh; the louder the groan, the more successful the pun. I think the same is true for spoonerisms such as the one we have today, and for other types of wordplay, such as palindromes, homophones, etc. So let’s look at today’s spoonerism. The speaker seems to be an artist. In the first part of the sentence she or he refers to the hanger of my art. “Hanger” in this case could be the person who is hanging the art, presumably on a wall though it could be from the top of a building or any other place from which art could hang. It’s even possible that this hanger is a person who is simply holding the art work up by means of a wire, thread or some other devise that keeps it off the ground. And of course, the “hanger” could simply be the nail and hook from which the work of art is hanging. We could really go nuts and add the homonym “hangar” h-a-n-g-a-r, which is a giant garage where airplanes are stored. Then we could have a hanger hanging art in from a hanger in a hangar. Now we’ve almost moved into the realm of tongue twisters. Let’s get back to the second part of the spoonerism instead. If we take the H from hanger and add it to art, we get hart, but we have to change to spelling to h-e-a-r-t, heart. Many cultures believe that the heart is the center of emotions and people write and talk about angry hearts. Hanger has now changed to anger and the spoonerism is complete. The hanger of the art displays the art work which reveals the anger of the artist. BTW, an old friend of mine is having an art exhibit soon which pretty much follows this spoonerism. I wish him well. And THAT’s what’s not funny but real!

Listen to the podcast: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1396895-artsy-fartsy

WE SERVE FROGS WHAT DO FROGS EAT WITH THEIR HAMBURGERS? –...

Sat, 25 May 2013 12:24:53 -0400

WE SERVE FROGS

WHAT DO FROGS EAT WITH THEIR HAMBURGERS? – FRENCH FLIES

What so funny about this? There are a number of underlying puns in this joke, but let’s deal with the basic joke first. Frogs are carnivores, they eat meat, and just about any other member of the animal kingdom that will fit into their mouths. Usually they eat insects, like flies, but frogs will also eat snakes, lizards, and given the opportunity, ground beef, also called hamburger. Most frogs don’t often have the opportunity to eat hamburger unless they are living in captivity as pets or in a lab and used for experiments. But the frogs we’re talking about in the joke are more mythical or imaginary, with more human traits, such as going to MacDonald’s or Burger King for a burger. Naturally, if the frog is going to eat a hamburger, it’s quite likely it will also order french fries and maybe a chocolate shake to go with it. But I’d imagine that most frogs would reject French fries which are, after all, potatoes and not animal. That’s why some restaurants which cater or specialize in serving frogs will give them french FLIES instead of fires. There’s the pun in the joke. French fries are only called that in the US. The French call them pomme frite or “fried potatos.” In England they’re called “chips.” To further complicate matters, Americans also have potato chips but they are sliced very thin and are crunchy and salty, what the Brits call potato crisps. How is a poor frog supposed to know what to order when it goes to a restaurant for hamburgers and flies? In French, the word for fly is mouche., which could be a pun for mousse or pudding.So, for dessert, our frog could eat chocolate mouche. And THAT’s what’s so funny!

Listen to the podcast: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1414016-we-serve-frogs

MY WAY OR THE HIGH WAY I THINK IT’S JUST TERRIBLE AND...

Fri, 24 May 2013 22:43:17 -0400

MY WAY OR THE HIGH WAY

I THINK IT’S JUST TERRIBLE AND DISGUSTING HOW EVERYONE HAS TREATED LANCE ARMSTRONG, ESPECIALLY AFTER WHAT HE ACHIEVED, WINNING SEVEN TOUR DE FRANCE RACES WHILE COMPETING ON DRUGS. WHEN I WAS ON DRUGS, I COULDN’T EVEN FIND MY BIKE.

What’s so funny about this? This joke centers around the phrase “on drugs”. It means to be taking drugs and to be under their influence. The question is, what kind of drugs and what kind of influence? English doesn’t have separate words for good drugs and bad drugs. It makes no difference if you’re talking about Penicillin or Heroin. They are both drugs even though they do wildly different things. There are other words used for some of the same things, such as medications, medicine, herbal supplements. These last three represent the more positive drugs. And there is a LOT of slang for bad drugs, e.g. dope, oxy, meth, crack, etc. So if you’re addicted to opium, do you buy it at a drug store? Theoretically it should be available there, since it’s a drug and that what drug stores sell. But we do make a distinction between a “controlled substance”, which is an illegal drug; a “prescription drug”, which you can only get with a special note from a doctor (unfortunately there are some doctors who will write out a prescription for anything you want, if you pay them enough); and “over-the-counter drugs”, which you can just pick up off the shelves at any drug store. This includes acne medication, aspirin and hay fever pills. But what about Lance? He was on drugs, wasn’t he? So how could he do so well when others who are on drugs, are lying in a stupor in some alley? Lance Armstrong took what are called “performance enhancing drugs”, the same stuff baseball players used to take or might still be taking, and the same junk they give to horses to make them run faster and stronger. When the horses gets sick, they just shoot them. Maybe that’s what they should do to these “so-called” athletes. And THAT’s what’s so funny and kind of disgusting.

This joke was sent to me by my pal, Bill Greenfield

Listen to the podcast: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1399055-my-way-or-the-high-way

SORRY, I’M A LITTLE TIED UP AT THE MOMENT REPUBLICANS...

Fri, 24 May 2013 16:33:00 -0400

SORRY, I’M A LITTLE TIED UP AT THE MOMENT

REPUBLICANS UNDERSTAND THE IMPORTANCE OF BONDAGE BETWEEN A MOTHER AND CHILD – FORMER VICE PRESIDENT, DAN QUALE

What’s so funny about this? There are so many ironies in the politics of morality. The people who are against abortion are frequently those who support capital punishment. The people who don’t want any restrictions on carrying and shooting guns, have no problems about restricting the rights of children or adults. Corporal punishment of children is very popular in some states such as Texas. They say parents as well as schools have the right to spank their children and administer other punishment. They believe in the sanctity of the family as long as it’s not a gay family. But in the abortion debate there has been a lot of finger pointing and blaming the other side and calling it evil. So, this might be a good time to remember our old friend, Dan Quale who was Vice President under George H.W. Bush, George Jr.’s father. Dan had his own way with words just as the younger George did. One of Dan’s most famous malapropisms was the quotation in this joke. Dan was trying to defend the anti-abortion position of the Republican Party and rejecting the claim that they were insensitive to women’s issues. He wanted to stress the importance of the relationship of a mother to her child. This connection is often called a “bond”. But in Quale’s mouth it became bondage, which literally means tying someone up. And it has sexual overtones as well. I guess we know what was really on Dan’s mind when this great quote came out. And THAT’s what’s so funny!

Listen to the podcast: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1413017-sorry-i-m-a-little-tied-up-at-the-moment

MAKE MINE A DOUBLE A WOMAN DROVE ME TO DRINK, AND I NEVER...

Thu, 23 May 2013 23:12:27 -0400

MAKE MINE A DOUBLE

A WOMAN DROVE ME TO DRINK, AND I NEVER EVEN HAD THE COURTESY TO THANK HER – W.C. FIELDS

What’s so funny about this? This joke just goes to show you that even though something was said a long time ago, if it’s true it will always be funny. This joke is at least 80 years old, and, of course, we’re still laughing at Shakespeare and Mark Twain and all those guys. There were some funny old women too. W.C. Fields was an old time movie actor, well-known for his jokes, his giant round nose, and his heavy drinking. Naturally, there are multiple meanings going on here, all centered around the word “drive”, or “drove” since the joke is in the past tense. By itself, DRIVE means to operate or control a moving vehicle. If you drive someone someplace then that person is a passenger in your vehicle. BTW the vehicle could be a horse and buggy, a spaceship, or a car. If it’s moving and you’re controlling it then you are the driver who is driving the vehicle. However, to “drive someone to do something” is an idiom. It means to make or force someone to do something. Usually they don’t want to do it, but you’re driving them to do it, perhaps by nagging them, bribing them or holding a pistol to their head. In the case of the joke there is a strong double meaning. The drinking refers to not any drinking, but to drinking alcoholic beverages frequently. It could be that W.C. Fields was against drinking (alcohol), but was driven to it or forced to do it by the woman in question. On the other hand, WC Fields could simply have gotten into her car and caught a ride (she drove him) to the nearest bar or saloon, where he commenced to drink his daily dose of booze. We’ll never know which of the two he meant, but we do know that he was grateful to her for doing it. It’s probably better for us too. I doubt he would have been as funny as he was if he were sober. And THAT’s what’s so funny!

Listen to the podcast: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1401067-make-mine-a-double

HOT FLASH DRIVE THE EXHIBITIONIST RAN TO THE STORE BECAUSE...

Thu, 23 May 2013 12:20:36 -0400

HOT FLASH DRIVE

THE EXHIBITIONIST RAN TO THE STORE BECAUSE HE HEARD THEY WERE HAVING A FLASH SALE

What’s so funny about this? So, exactly what is an exhibitionist? Two definitions come to mind. The first is a person who likes to exhibit him or herself. “Exhibit” in this case means to show, display, or to show off. It’s someone who likes to be seen by many people. The word does not necessarily have a sexual connotation, but it usually does. Another name for an exhibitionist is a “show-off”. This is the person who’s always trying to get attention for himself or herself. Someone who likes the spotlight; who wants to be on stage; who wants to be in the movies and have their picture plastered all over the internet. At the sexual level, an exhibitionist is a person who wants people to see the body parts that we normally cover up and don’t allow others to see. However, another perfectly reasonable definition could be someone who likes to produce, stage, or put on exhibitions of say, art. Another name for this kind of exhibitionist is “curator”. You will find them at museums and art galleries, which is where they have art exhibits. Of course these can be sexual in nature too. But why, in the joke, did the exhibitionist run to the store? Well, he heard about a “flash sale”. A normal sale in a store is when the store offers discounts on certain products in the store. The sale might last a week or a week-end, something like that. But a “flash sale” is a limited time sale with a really good discount. It’s designed to get people excited and come to the store right away. The sale might only last for a couple of hours. But “flashing” is also a slang term for revealing one of those body parts related to sex. A person who does this is called a flasher. It can even be a completely nude man or woman who runs across the field at a sporting event. A flasher is typically shown as a dirty old man dressed in a rain coat which he opens at the appropriate moment to reveal what’s underneath, which is usually nothing. So our exhibitionist friend got excited because the sale might be a chance to meet some fellow flashers. Or maybe he just needed a good flash light, or a new version of Adobe. And THAT’s what’s so funny!

This joke was submitted to punoftheday.com by Adele from Bohemia, NY

Listen to the podcast: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1410413-hot-flash-drive

BEER HERE DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE FRANKFURTER SALESMAN WHO...

Wed, 22 May 2013 23:51:38 -0400

BEER HERE

DID YOU HEAR ABOUT THE FRANKFURTER SALESMAN WHO GOT DRUNK AT A BASEBALL GAME? HE WENT ON A HOT DOG BENDER.

What’s so funny about this? The Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle is a great source of puns. The daily puzzles aren’t bad either, but Sundays seem to bring out the best (or the worst, depending on how you feel about puns) of the puzzle makers. I debated whether or not to do this one because it is so culturally loaded with concepts that only American native English speakers would know. And then, even if they get it, chances are that they won’t laugh because puns evoke groans rather than laughs. Nevertheless, I’m going to forge ahead because that’s what most of you are doing here, trying to understand the basis for American English jokes and puns. In the set-up I needed to paraphrase a “hot dog vendor.” These are the men and women you find at baseball games and other sporting events held in large stadiums (or stadia if you want the Latin plural) They walk up and down the aisles, yelling “Hey hot dogs, hot dogs here, get your hot dogs.” So a couple of synonyms for hot dogs are “frankfurter” and “wiener.” Both of these words reflect the Germanic origin of the “all-American” sausage. However “wiener” has too many other connotations these days, so I went with “frankfurter.” A “vendor” is a salesperson, usually of something small that they can hand you, like a hot dog or a beer. Moving on, these vendors are as human as the rest of us and like a drink or two, now and then. In the case of the joke, the vendor had a whole lot to drink and got roaring drunk. This kind of heavy drinking and getting drunk is known as “going on a bender”, which works very nicely as a pun for vendor. So a hot dog bender could even be someone who got drunk on too many hot dogs. Maybe they were laced with vodka? And THAT’s what’s so funny!

This joke was inspired by the Sunday, May 19, 2013 New York Times crossword puzzle by Jean O’Connor

Listen to the podcast: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1401972-beer-here

GO GRANNY GO A group of seniors were sitting around...

Wed, 22 May 2013 12:56:53 -0400

GO GRANNY GO

A group of seniors were sitting around comparing ailments. “My cataracts are so bad I can’t even see my nose,” said one man. “I can’t turn my head because of the arthritis is my neck,” said another. “I forget where I am and where I’m going,” said a third. “I guess that’s the price we pay for getting old,” said a woman, “But thank God we can still drive.”

What’s so funny about this? My mother never learned to drive until she was in her 50’s. She was never a great driver, but I was too young to realize that. She was one of those drivers that preferred to err on the side of caution. As a result we always went REALLY slow, with virtually every car on the road passing us. I’m amazed she never got a ticket for going 20 miles UNDER the speed limit! As I became a teen-ager, it drove me crazy of course and I always drove when we needed to go someplace together. Amazingly, she was never in an accident though it’s impossible to say how many she caused for all those drivers who sped up to pass her. She drove for another 40 years until she was about 95, when she finally gave it up. I remember she was very depressed about it for more than a year. It had been her last bit of freedom and afterward she felt trapped at home having to rely on friends to take her around. She was never as bad as the seniors in this joke, thankfully. She wore glasses but she didn’t have cataracts, which is when the eye gets cloudy limiting your vision. She had practiced yoga, and didn’t have much arthritis, the disease of the joints, so she could turn here head in all directions. She may have been a little crazy in the head, but she never had Alzheimer’s or dementia, so she always knew where she was and why. Can you guess in what sate she lived? Florida, of course, which is no doubt where the seniors in this joke lived. And THAT’s what’s so funny, unless you’re sitting in a car stuck behind one of these drivers.

This joke appeared in the “Planet Procter” column in the 4/12 issue of Funny Times

Listen to the podcast: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1408027-go-granny-go

Check out the song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MhiHZvq8zc

HOT TO TROT FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T LIKE INDIAN FOOD, THAT...

Tue, 21 May 2013 23:15:50 -0400

HOT TO TROT

FOR SOMEONE WHO DOESN’T LIKE INDIAN FOOD, THAT POLITICIAN SURE IS GOOD AT CURRYING FAVORS.

What’s so funny about this? This is kind of an obvious pun, but I wanted to do it anyway because of the fascinating origin of the expression “curry favor”. But first let’s look at “curry”. As a noun it has a variety of food related meanings. It can be a mixture of spices in powder form; it can be a sauce; or it can be the actually dish itself including spices sauce, meat, vegetable, etc. You can have a chicken curry a, lamb curry, even a spinach curry. Curries are usually associated with India but many other Asian countries have them too. As a verb, however, curry has an entirely different meaning. It means to clean a coat of a horse, or to tan leather. Can’t get much different from that, and that’s because these are really homophones with the same spelling, that originate from very different words. One comes from Dravidian, an Indian language, and the other from French. The idiom “to curry favor” means to be nice to someone in order for them to do something nice for you. Kind of like “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours”. It is similar to “apple polishing” or “ass kissing,” and we know politicians are great at that. But the idiom comes from a mispronunciation of Favel who was a talking horse in a 13^th century French morality tale. Favel managed to deceive and corrupt the aristocracy and clergy of the time. They, in turn, thought that by being extra nice to Favel, by rubbing and cleaning (or currying) his coat, he would help them get rich and powerful. So the original expression was to “curry favel’ which eventually was mispronounced and became “curry favor”. And THAT’s not rip-roaringly funny, but it should bring a smile to your face.

This joke was submitted to Punoftheday.com by Wordsworth, from California

Listen to the podcast at: http://audioboo.fm/boos/1403716-hot-to-trot?playlist_direction=reversed

ALL DAY SUCKER IF YOU CAN’T SPOT THE SUCKER AT THE POKER...

Tue, 21 May 2013 12:41:00 -0400

ALL DAY SUCKER

IF YOU CAN’T SPOT THE SUCKER AT THE POKER TABLE, IT’S PROBABLY YOU

What’s so funny about this? This saying has probably been around as long as the game of poker which itself is at least 200 years old. Nevertheless, it has a certain freshness about it, at least to my ears, since I haven’t heard the expression in a long time. It’s not that difficult to understand. The key word in the expression is the word “sucker”. This word has many meanings, not all of them clean. The verb form is “suck” which goes back to Anglo-Saxon and Olde English and back even further to Old German Dutch and Norse. It’s one of those really basic rootsy kinds of words. Though its sexual meaning only goes back about 100 years, the noun form, “sucker,” goes back to the14^th century, only then it referred to a young mammal before it stopped sucking it mother’s teat. In slang usage it goes back to the mid 1800’s, meaning someone who is easily fooled or deceived. The word was made famous by P.T. Barnum the circus guy, who said, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Mostly it’s about easily taking someone’s money away from them. There is a fish by the same name that’s very easy to catch and some people thing that’s where the slang expression, sucker, came from. Poker is not as easy as it looks and there’s always some guy who thinks he’s smarter or luckier than the other people at the table, which is where poker is played, in case you didn’t know. This joke is actually a good warning not to be over confident. Even if there are no cheaters at particular poker game, chances are decent that there will be someone at least as smart and as lucky as you. The advice is to not go to a game trying to find the one guy whose money you’re going to win. If you do and you don’t see him, guess what, they’ve been waiting for you. BTW, this joke is true even away from the poker table. And THAT’s what’s so funny!

http://audioboo.fm/boos/1405854-all-day-sucker

CAN YOU GUESS THE EXPRESSION? Click a button on the right...

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:02:19 -0400

CAN YOU GUESS THE EXPRESSION?

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THROW IN THE TOWEL Origin: This expression originated in the...

Sun, 12 May 2013 22:04:00 -0400

THROW IN THE TOWEL

Origin: This expression originated in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. I comes from professional or semi-professional organized boxing. Matches or bouts were fought on a square area (originally round) known as a “boxing ring.” Each boxer had a support staff in one corner. This staff consisted of the manager, and trainer and maybe one other helper. In between rounds, the period of time when the boxers fought, the boxer would go to his corner sit and relax for about a minute. Naturally he’d be hot and sweaty. The trainer would wipe him down with a wet towel to cool and then dry him off. Before the towel, they used to use a sponge. The match would go on for a number of rounds, say 10 or 12 and the boxers would try to knock each other out. If that didn’t happen but one boxer was being beaten up too badly, he or his manager would decide to give up. This was indicated by the manager throwing the towel into the center of the ring. The expression first appeared in print around 1913. Within three years it had become a metaphor for resigning from anything.

Usage: Informal, spoken, general American English. Frequently used in sporting or business or gambling situations

Idiomatic Meaning: To quit, give up or resign

Literal Meaning: To toss or throw a towel onto the floor or ground. The towel could be cloth or as in the illustration it can even be a roll of paper towels

Why is this funny? In the cartoon we see that the cowboy is fed up. Apparently his job was to wipe off the woman in the tub, using paper towels, which are not particularly great for drying off after a bath because you have to use too much of the roll. So the cowboy is throwing in the towel by walking away, and throwing in the towel. Note that the left side of the picture is black and white while the cowboy’s side is in color. This is also a good-bye message from our cartoonist who is telling us that he’s thrown in the towel, by not finishing the illustration with color. He will be leaving Rolls off the Tongue and we wish him well.

Sample sentence: I’m fed up trying to cook for this family with no help from anyone; find another cook, I’m throwing in the towel.

Hint: Resign

IT’S IN THE BAG Origin: This expression comes from...

Sun, 05 May 2013 21:55:00 -0400

IT’S IN THE BAG

Origin: This expression comes from American baseball. It dates back to the early 20^th century, specifically to the old New York Giants (later the San Francisco Giants, since the 1950’s). In 1916, the Giants won 26 games in a row. This is a very difficult thing to do and baseball players are naturally superstitious. As they were winning games they wanted to “ensure” that the streak would continue. At the start of every game a large bag full of the baseballs to be used for the game is brought out onto the playing field. If a ball is hit into the seats as a foul, or out of the park as a home run, or if it just gets too dirty, it will be replaced by a new ball. Every game begins with 72 balls. During their winning streak, the Giants somehow came to believe that if they were ahead in the ninth (last) inning, and someone carried the bag off the field, the Giants would win the game. So if a game is “in the bag” then it’s “certain” the Giants will win. Eventually the expression came to mean anything that you’re very positive about.

Usage: Informal, spoken, general American English. Frequently used in sporting or business or gambling situations when you are predicting a result.

Idiomatic Meaning: A sure thing; a virtual certainty

Literal Meaning: A bag is a soft container usually made of cloth, or paper or plastic. If there is an object in it, then it’s “in the bag.”

Why is this funny? In the cartoon, we see some guys inside large bags, or sacks. This event is called a “Sack Race”. The participants get into the bags and have to jump a certain distance to a finish line. The one who arrives first is the winner. This is a popular activity at large picnics and fairs. In this particular race the audience is betting money on who the winner will be. One person tell the other that racer #5 is sure to win because he had Mexican jumping beans for lunch, and these will assist in his jumping ability. So “it’s in the bag” that the racer who is “in the bag” (#5) will win the race.

Sample sentence: My cousin just started dating the boss’s daughter. You know his promotion is “in the bag.”

BENT OUT OF SHAPE Origin: This expression has afairly recent...

Sun, 28 Apr 2013 18:01:00 -0400

BENT OUT OF SHAPE

Origin: This expression has afairly recent origin. 2^nd half of the 20^th century. Similar to “nose out of joint”, “knickers in a twist” (British), “balls in an uproar” To be “in shape”, that is physically fit goes back to the 1700’s. There is speculation that this expression might be related to a condition known as “the bends”, which is what happens when deep sea divers surface too quickly. Too much nitrogen in the blood causes extreme pain and physical deformity. Others think it’s related to the expression “get bent”. But in my opinion it is akin to the expressions mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph, all of which describe emotional states of excitement or being upset.

Usage: Informal, spoken, general American English. Frequently told to someone as a negative command, i.e. “don’t get bent out of shape”

Idiomatic Meaning: To be extremely excited, angry, upset and/or disturbed

Literal Meaning: To be severely physically distorted, as you can see from the picture

Why is this funny? One look at the photo and it’s easy to see that this guy is totally bent out of shape mentally and emotionally, probably because he’s so bent out of shape physically.

Sample sentence: When I told him it was over and I was leaving, he got completely bent out of shape

Hint: Very angry

Click a button on the right to Guess the answer Get a hint Get a...

Sun, 21 Apr 2013 18:50:00 -0400

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PIE IN THE SKY

Origin: This expression came from Joe Hill, an American labor organizer, from a song he wrote in 1911, called The Preacher and the Slave. Hill didn’t like some churches which preached salvation in the afterlife and weren’t concerned with feeding hungry people and workers who hardly made any money and worked in dangerous and miserable conditions. The chorus in which the line appears is:

You will eat bye and bye, In that glorious land in the sky, Work and pray, live on hay, You’ll get pie in the sky when you die

Joe was being sarcastic and mockingly meant that even if we’re hungry here on earth, when we die and (if) we go to heaven (the sky) we’ll have plenty of our favorite foods, such as pie. As an expression all by itself, pie in the sky didn’t come into popular usage until the 40’s, when it was used in an editorial by a California newspaper. The reference was still to “eat pie in the sky”, but eventually “eat” was dropped and pie in the sky came to refer to any unobtainable goal.

Usage: Informal, spoken and written, general, American English

Idiomatic Meaning: Any concept or tangible item that someone wants and it’s not really possible that the person’s wish will come true

Literal Meaning: In the case of this idiom, it depends whether you are spelling P-I-E or P-I. The original idiom has the first spelling, pie being a fruit filled pastry that is in the sky, somehow. If it’s spelled the second way, it’s the Greek letter that is used to represent part of the geometric formula for measuring circles. It stands for an infinite number beginning 3.14159 etc. This formula has to be in the sky, somehow

Why is this funny? The cartoon solves the problem of how PI got into the sky. It’s a cloud formation. Note that the little guy doesn’t recognize the numbers as the infinite number. Rather, he thinks that 3.14 represents his birth date, March 14. He’s convinced that it’s a sign or an omen guaranteeing him success and good fortune. His female friend tells him he’s dreaming and should be more realistic. She knows it’s not real, and that the PI in the sky is just pie in the sky!

Sample sentence: I wish my wife would stop imagining she’ll get the directorship in Paris. It’s just pie in the sky.

TAKE A LOAD OFF YOUR MIND Origin: If or when we are faced with...

Sun, 14 Apr 2013 22:10:00 -0400

TAKE A LOAD OFF YOUR MIND

Origin: If or when we are faced with a large problem or crisis, we often describe the problem or situation as “heavy” or as being a big “weight” on our minds. When the issue is resolved or we get a solution to the problem, the emotional pressure is relieved and it feels as if a weight or “load” has been removed. The meaning of “load” as a metaphor for a burden goes back to the 19^th century.

Usage: Informal spoken American and British English

Idiomatic Meaning: Getting relief from a big problem or something you have been worrying about

Literal Meaning: Taking something heavy off or out of your head

Why is this funny? In the cartoon we see a guy who told his doctor he had a head ache from all the stuff that was on his mind. These could be problems, worries, anxieties, whatever. The doctor tells him it was mostly garbage and has removed a large part of it. She show’s him what she has taken out. We see his head is still open but he is conscious and thanks the doctor for the relief. That’s certainly one way to take a load off your mind!

Sample sentence: I’m so happy that my presentation was cancelled; I was really scared; it’s a big load off my mind.

PLAY INTO SOMEONE’S HAND Origin: This expression has its...

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 22:20:00 -0400

PLAY INTO SOMEONE’S HAND

Origin: This expression has its origin in card playing, most likely Bridge, or Whist. Those games go back to the 16^th century. A part of the game’s strategy is to force your opponent to play certain cards. If you manage to do so, then she or he is playing into your hand, giving you an advantage. The expression is often pluralized into playing into someone’s hands. This slight modification has resulted in obscuring the origin of the meaning, making people think of a body part, when actually in card games your hand, refers to the cards you are holding. This meaning goes all the way back to the 16^th century as well.

Usage: Formal or informal, spoken, possibly written general British and American English. Often found in business, sports, military strategy, anything involving competition.

Idiomatic Meaning: To do what someone was expecting, giving that person an advantage;to be the victim of someone’s scheme or trap

Literal Meaning: Unless a giant is involved, it’s difficult to imagine a literal meaning for this expression. It means to engage a some form of game or sport and accidentally land in or on someone else’s hand

Why is this funny? In the cartoon we have the situation described in the literal meaning above. There is a baseball player about to catch a ball and fall off a cliff at the same time. He is about to fall into the hands of a giant, whose hand is extended and ready to catch to ball player. We can surmise that this is what the giant had planned, that is to catch the ball player. The player didn’t realize he was being set up. He played into the giant’s hand by playing into the giant’s hand.

Sample sentence: If you break off your engagement, you’ll be playing right into the hands of her mother, who doesn’t want her to marry you.

PULLING SOMEONE’S LEG Origin: This expression appears to...

Sun, 31 Mar 2013 23:15:00 -0400

PULLING SOMEONE’S LEG

Origin: This expression appears to be Scottish in origin, going back to the early 20t century. When first used it meant to make a fool of someone, sometimes by actual cheating. It did not have the easy-going sense that it has today. It might have come from the idea that by tripping someone, that is, pulling their leg out from under, you can make them look foolish. There is another theory that the expression might have something to do with public hangings. Children would pull on the legs of hanging victims to get things to fall out of their pockets. Another proposed theory is that friends of the condemned person would pull on his legs to make the execution quicker.

Usage: Informal spoken and written British and American general English

Idiomatic Meaning: To tease or make fun of someone in a good-natured way

Literal Meaning: As the cartoon shows, this expression simply means to grab someone’s leg and move it away, or pull it away, from the rest of their body.

Why is this funny? In the cartoon, we have a case of extreme pulling. The poor frog or toad is actually being towed by its leg. Why? First of all, note the pun that the toad is being towed, in fact, by another toad. A toad is the name for a type of frog that lives on land. The sign clearly states that croaking is not allowed. Croaking is the distinctive sound that toads make. In slang, to croak means to die. This is why the brown toad is angry and objecting to being towed by a toad. It didn’t die, it didn’t croak. The toad in the truck, of course, knows this. He’s just teasing or pulling the other toad’s leg, by pulling its leg!

Sample sentence: There’s no way I just won the lottery. You’ve got to be pulling my leg.

got to be pulling my leg.

SHOOTING YOUR MOUTH OFF Origin: The origins of this expression...

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 00:15:00 -0400

SHOOTING YOUR MOUTH OFF

Origin: The origins of this expression are not clear. It was first recorded in the mid 19^th century, most likely in the American west. The word “shoot” itself is very old, going back to Germanic language roots, meaning to throw or project. Of course it came to refer to guns, but metaphorically it’s not a big leap to speech. I thought it might be related to “shoot the breeze” which has the same sense of verbal shooting, but that didn’t appear until the mid 20^th century, a hundred years later. Since you can damage someone by shooting a gun, the relationship to hurting someone with your words is pretty obvious.

Usage: Informal, spoken, general American and British English

Idiomatic Meaning: To boast, exaggerate, talk indiscreetly, make reckless statements; talking too much in a loud and uncontrolled way; tell secrets; talk without thinking

Literal Meaning: The literal meaning off this expression is difficult to imagine. It means to take a gun, aim it at your mouth and then shoot it off. The question remains, are you shooting off a gun or a mouth? Originally, it was a phrasal verb coming from “shoot off”, but it is subject to interpretation and the “off” could refer to one’s own mouth, I suppose.

Why is this funny? This expression could be related to “cutting off your nose to spite your face,” since both expressions result in being “defaced”, that is, losing one or more parts of one’s face, much as the head of a statue might lose parts from wear and tear and weathering. But in fact the cartoon shows a guy shooting off his mouth figuratively with his swearing, bragging, etc. But then he literally shoots off his mouth, accidentally, as indicated by the word “Oops!” So he shot off his mouth when he shot off his mouth.

Sample sentence: Don’t pay any attention to that loudmouth. He’s always “shooting off his mouth” about how great he is.

SKATING ON THIN ICE Origin: The word “skate” goes back to the...

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 23:53:00 -0400

SKATING ON THIN ICE

Origin: The word “skate” goes back to the Dutch language in the 17^th century. This is not surprising as the Dutch were well known for skating and they were early colonizers in North America. Skating on thin ice is a common sense phrase making use of the verb. Children were no doubt warned not to do that in Holland and all other countries where skating was popular. Metaphoric usage probably followed shortly thereafter.

Usage: Formal and informal, spoken and written, general British and American English

Idiomatic Meaning: Knowingly engaging in a dangerous or risky activity

Literal Meaning: Ice skating is a very old sport. These days there are ice skating rinks where they manufacture ice, but people still do skate on natural ice and have done so for thousands of years. People skate on lakes or ponds or other bodies of water. The water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit or 0 degrees Celsius. The ice usually needs to be frozen for several days before it is safe to skate on it. The ice needs to be thick and strong enough to support the weight of many human skaters. It it’s too thin it will crack, break and the skater(s) will fall in the icy water. Skating on thin ice is not smart and unnecessarily dangerous.

Why is this funny? When people literally skate on thin ice, they may be unaware of how dangerous or risky their behavior is. However, sometimes, as the cartoon shows there is a warning sign. If a skater chooses to ignore the warning, she or he does it at her or his own risk. In the cartoon, because the guy is showing off to the girl, he’s skating on thin ice by skating on thin ice. This story could have a monstrous ending!

Sample sentence: The accountant was skating on thin ice when she changed the numbers because the IRS auditors were coming.