Linguistic Humor and Language Play

Linguistic Humor, and
Language Play
by Don L. F. Nilsen
and Alleen Pace Nilsen
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Funniness of a Text
A text is funny if and only if the text is
compatible (fully or in part) with two
distinct scripts, and the two distinct
scripts are in some way opposite.
(Ruch [2008] 25)
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ãictor Raskin¶s Joke
³Is the doctor at home?´ the patient asked in
his bronchial whisper.
³No,´ the doctor¶s young and pretty wife

whispered in reply. ³Come right in.´
Script opposition: Non-Sex vs. Sex

(Ruch [2008] 25)
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ALLUSION
³Allusion´ is the noun form of the
English verb ³to allude.´
³Allude´ comes from Latin ³ad-´ plus

³ludere´ meaning ³to play.´
(Nilsen & Nilsen 23)
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³JIMINY CRICKET´ AS AN ALLUSION
The expression ³By Jiminy´ used to be a

swear word. In fact it was a double
swearword, because it was swearing by the
constellation ³Gemini´ which represented
the twins (Castor and Pollux).
People could say either ³Jiminy Cricket´ or

³Jiminy Christmas.´
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But ³Jiminy Cricket´ also has the initials J.
C., so this particular swear word takes on
more serious consequences.
Remember that ³Jiminy Cricket´ was

Pinocchio¶s conscience.
What better conscience could one have than

one with the initials J. C.?
(Nilsen & Nilsen 23-24)
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CONFUSED ALLUSIONS
Comedian Michael Davis juggled with
the ax that George Washington had
used to chop down the cherry tree.
³However, I did have to replace the

handle.´ «««..
³and the head.´
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On the ³George Burns and Gracie Allen´
television show, Gracie often got her
allusions wrong.
GEORGE: If you keep saying funny things,

people are going to laugh at you.
GRACIE: That¶s OK. Look at Joan of Arc.

People laughed at her, but she went ahead
and built it anyway.
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ANTITHESIS
Antithesis occurs when opposite concepts are connected so as
to make a surprising kind of sense as in a MasterCard
advertisement showing a picture of a tall man looking at a shirt.
The caption reads, ³You found a 50 long. But you¶re $17
short.´
The World Book Encyclopedia ran a summertime advertising

campaign under the slogan, ³Schools are closed«Minds are
open.´
The Hoover Company advertised its irons with ³The iron with
the bottom that makes it tops.´
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Shortly after Gerald Ford assumed the U.S.
Presidency, he amused an audience at Ohio
State University by saying:
³So much has happened in the few months

since you were kind enough to invite me to
speak here today. I was then America¶s first
instant ãice-President and then I became
America¶s first instant President.
The Marine Corps Band is so confused they

don¶t know whether to play ³Hail to the Chief´
or ³You¶ve Come a Long Way Baby.´
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CHIASMUS
Chiasmus is when words are repeated in inverted order:
Mae West said, ³It¶s not the men in my life that counts; it¶s the life in
my men.´
A bumper sticker reads, ³Aging is a matter of mind: If you don¶t mind,

it doesn¶t matter.´
Another bumper sticker reads, ³Marijuana is not a question of ³Hi,

how are you´ but of ³How high are you?´
A one-liner that is popular around tax time reads, ³The IRS: We¶ve got
what it takes to take what you¶ve got.´
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EPONYMY
Eponyms are created when the name of a
real or mythical person is used in reference
to something other than the individual.
In 1992 the term Frankenfood started being

used for genetically altered tomatoes or
other foods.
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During the first Gulf War, American soldiers said they
were taking Johnny Weissmuller showers because the
cold water made them scream like Tarzan.
When Ross Perot was running for president, John

Chancellor described Perot as holding ³the Daddy
Warbucks theory of presidential qualifications.´
When a report stated that over 500 out of the 700

shooting incidents in which Los Angeles police were
involved between 1987 and 1994 were potentially life-
threatening mistakes, a union leader observed that
officers had succumbed to the John Wayne syndromeO
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Sometimes the eponymy is based on first names as in
the noun Lazy Susan2 the verb to peter out, or the
exclamations Great Scott! and By George!
Sometimes the words rhyme as with even Steven2 flap

jack2 and ready for Freddie.
Sometimes there is alliteration as in gloomy Gus2

dumb Dora2 and nervous Nellie2 or assonance as in
alibi Ike2 fancy Dan2 sneaky Pete2 long johns2 and
screaming MeemieO
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Joe is a simple generic name as in Joe Six-
Pack2 which is a refinement of the Good Old
Joe concept, seen earlier in Joe Blow and
Joe Schmo2 and in the more specific G.I. Joe
(from ³General Issue´) for a soldier.
Other examples include Joe (or J.) Random

Hacker for a computer whiz, Holy Joe for an
army chaplain, Joe College for a student, and
even Joe Camel for the controversial cartoon
character that sold Camel cigarettes.
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METONYMY
Metonymy occurs when something is named for a
quality that is in some way associated with the item.
In the days of CB radios, people often chose

³handles´ that were descriptive of their physical
characteristics or their hobbies
Today with e-mail and the Internet some people

choose nicknames that are metonymous.
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Jeff Gordon, a professor of geography at Bowling Green State
University in Ohio, collects interesting names of antique shops.
He has over 300, including these:

Another Fine Mess
As You Were
The Collected Works
Fourscore and More
A Touch of Glass
Den of Antiquity
Owners¶ names can be seen in Suzantiques, Shair¶s Wares,

Young¶s Oldies, and Fine¶s Finds.
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The Watergate Hotel is where the break-in of the
National Democratic headquarters occurred.
Today¶s dictionaries give more room to the

metonymous meaning of Watergate than to the
literal meaning of ³a gate controlling the flow of
water.´
' has now become a suffix meaning ³scandal´

as in Irangate, Contragate, Iraqgate, Pearlygate,
Rubbergate, Murphygate, Gennifergate, Nannygate,
Monicagate, ad infinitum.
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Diseases are sometimes given metonymous
names. For example, the Pickwickian
Syndrome gets its name from Charles
Dicken¶s The Pickwick Papers in which Joe
the Fat Boy constantly falls asleep.
The disease is a condition in which blood

veins going to the brain are squeezed so that
people fall asleep in the midst of activities.
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Ondine¶s Curse describes a condition in
which sleeping people cease breathing and
die without awakening. It is named for a
mythological water nymph who cursed her
mortal lover when he betrayed her.
Legionnaire¶s disease is named for 29 victims

who died after attending a 1976 American
Legion convention in a hotel with a
contaminated air-conditioning system.
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NONSENSE
The literal meaning of Nonsense is that it doesn¶t
make sense; however nonsense verse and other
nonsense is carefully put together so that it has a
strong rhythmic quality that serves to highlight
logical infelicities and m m words.
Nonce means ³only once.´ Nonsense words are

coined for a particular use as in Lewis Carroll¶s
³Jabberwocky´ poem where he created frabjous and
galumphing2 new words which caught on so that
most people at least recognize them today.
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Nonsense can also be found in the logic of
some seemingly serious pieces as in Charles
Dicken¶s story for children ³The Magic
Fishbone,´ in which he makes fun of large
ãictorian families by describing Princess
Alicia¶s family:
³They had nineteen children and were always

having more. Seventeen of these children
took care of the baby, and Alicia, the eldest,
took care of them all. Their ages varied from
seven years to seven months.´
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OXYMORON
Oxymoron comes from two Greek words oxys
meaning ³sharp´ and moros meaning ³foolish or
dull.´
This paradox or contradiction can be seen in such

expressions as Icy-Hot (an arthritis medicine)2 Cool
Fire (a line of shoes)2 and Soft Brick (a floor
covering).
An article in People Magazine (March 3, 1986) about

Warren S. Blumenfeld, who brought oxymorons to
the attention of the general public, contains fourteen
oxymorons:
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It was a new tradition---the First Annual Florida Snowmobiles¶
Ball.
As he gazed across the crowded room, he saw her sitting on the

real vinyl banquette.
She was a relative stranger, but he was attracted by her

seductive innocence.
Sophisticated good ole boy that he was, he adopted an air of

studied indifference as he mused upon the planned serendipity
of their meeting.
³What if she is a closet exhibitionist?´ he wondered.
³What if she thinks my minor surgery is old news?´
Still she was his only choice.

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In truth, is it possible to desegrate schools
³with all deliberate speed?´
Can there ever be a civil war, or friendly fire?
In ãietnam could the United States launch a

peace offensive?
Some people go so far as to wear a button

that says, ³Anarchists Unite!´
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PERSONIFICATION
Even before infants have mastered language, they respond to
toys as if they were human, and in the earliest nursery rhymes
and stories, animals, dolls, ³choo-choo´ trains, and teapots
come to life.
This kind of personification is a kind of fun that we never

outgrow as shown by this paragraph from an often reprinted
lament to old age:
As soon as I wake, Will Power helps me get out of bed. Then I

go see John. Then Charley Horse comes along, and as soon as
he leaves, Arthur Ritis shows up and for the rest of the day we
go from joint to joint. After such a busy day, I¶m tired and glad
to go back to bed---with Ben Gay. What a life!
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PUNS
Richard Lederer in the introduction to his Get
Thee to a Punnery said that puns are ³a
three-ring circus of words: words clowning,
words teetering on tightropes, words
swinging from tent-tops, words thrusting
their heads into the mouths of lions.´
Tony Tanner said that a pun is like an

adulterous bed in which two meanings that
should be separated are coupled together.
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Debra Fried defined puns as ³the weird
accidents, amazing flukes and lucky hits
that the one-armed bandit of language
dishes up«.´
This last example is a case of once-

removed personification, since a ³one-
armed bandit´ is itself a personified
reference to a gambling machine.
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SYNECDOCHE
Synecdoche is a specific kind of metonymy in which
a part of something is used to represent the whole
thing.
We refer to the movies as the big screen or to

television as the tubeO
In a popular joke about the Lone Ranger show, Tonto

uses synecdoche when he responds to the Lone
Ranger¶s announcement that ³We are being followed
by Indians,´ with ³What you mean we2 Paleface?´
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Football kicker Lou Grossa was called The
Toe2 while the outspoken baseball player and
coach Leo Durocher was called The LipO
Actress Betty Grable was called The Million

Dollar Legs2 while Jimmy Durante was called
The SchnozO
In a Brant Parker Wizard of ID cartoon, a girl

brings a boy home and introduces him with,
³Father«This is Marvin! He¶s asked for my
hand.´ The father replies, ³Marv«.It¶s the
whole package or nothing.´
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±EUGMA
Intentional Faulty Parallelism is called
±eugma.
Chuckles the Clown on the Mary Tyler Moore

show said,

A little song«

A little dance«

A little Seltzer down your pants!
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Naturalist Joseph Wood Krutch wrote that
³the most serious charge that can be brought
against New England is not Puritanism, but
February.´
Henry Clay declared that he ³would rather be

right than President.´
Here are some more examples of ±eugma:
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!When William F. Buckley Jr. was campaigning for
mayor of New York City in 1965 and railed against the
restrictions being put on New York City police, he
complained that they couldn¶t use clubs or gas or
dogs and then concluded with, ³I suppose they will
have to use poison ivy.´
Sid Caesar said that tequila is ³our national drink´

because ³it kindles the spirits of our hearts.´
Then he added, ³And it keeps our cigarette lighters

working.´
A Wall Street Journal cartoon by D. Cresci pictured a

bank robber informing the teller, ³You won¶t get hurt if
you hand over all the money, keep quiet, and validate
this parking ticket.´
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!!Here are some more examples:
³You were never lovelier, and I think it¶s a shame.´
³One swallow does not a summer make, but Humpty Dumpty

makes a great fall.´
³Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may be

radioactive.´
There¶s no fool like an old fool; you just can¶t beat experience.
An apple a day keeps the doctor away; an onion a day keeps

everyone away.
Rome wasn¶t built in a day; the pizza parlors alone took several
weeks.
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!!!LANGUAGE PLAY WEB SITES
AMERICAN DIALECT SOCIETY:

http://americandialect.org/
HUMOR, LINGUISTICS & NAMES (ALLEEN AND DON NILSEN):

http://www.phoenixartspace.com/icm/
HUMOR QUEST (Mary Kay Morrison):

http://www.questforhumor.com/
MALEDICTA (REINHOLD AMAN):

http://www.sonic.net/maledicta
RICH HALL¶S SNIGGLETS:

http://www.ziplink.net/users/wood/funny/snigglets.html
ãERBIãORE (RICHARD LEDERER):

http://www.verbivore.com
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Related PowerPoints
Ambiguity
Animal Language Play
Bilingual Humor
Jokes
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Linguistic Humor and Language Play

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Linguistic Humor and Language Play

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Linguistic Humor, and

³No,´ the doctor¶s young and pretty wife

Script opposition: Non-Sex vs. Sex

³Allude´ comes from Latin ³ad-´ plus

The expression ³By Jiminy´ used to be a

People could say either ³Jiminy Cricket´ or

Remember that ³Jiminy Cricket´ was

What better conscience could one have than

³However, I did have to replace the

³and the head.´

GEORGE: If you keep saying funny things,

GRACIE: That¶s OK. Look at Joan of Arc.

The World Book Encyclopedia ran a summertime advertising

³So much has happened in the few months

The Marine Corps Band is so confused they

A bumper sticker reads, ³Aging is a matter of mind: If you don¶t mind,

Another bumper sticker reads, ³Marijuana is not a question of ³Hi,

In 1992 the term Frankenfood started being

When Ross Perot was running for president, John

When a report stated that over 500 out of the 700

Sometimes the words rhyme as with even Steven2 flap

Sometimes there is alliteration as in gloomy Gus2

Other examples include Joe (or J.) Random

In the days of CB radios, people often chose

Today with e-mail and the Internet some people

The Collected Works

Fourscore and More

Owners¶ names can be seen in Suzantiques, Shair¶s Wares,

Today¶s dictionaries give more room to the

' has now become a suffix meaning ³scandal´

The disease is a condition in which blood

Legionnaire¶s disease is named for 29 victims

Nonce means ³only once.´ Nonsense words are

³They had nineteen children and were always

This paradox or contradiction can be seen in such

An article in People Magazine (March 3, 1986) about

As he gazed across the crowded room, he saw her sitting on the

She was a relative stranger, but he was attracted by her

Sophisticated good ole boy that he was, he adopted an air of

³What if she is a closet exhibitionist?´ he wondered.

³What if she thinks my minor surgery is old news?´

Still she was his only choice.

Can there ever be a civil war, or friendly fire?

In ãietnam could the United States launch a

Some people go so far as to wear a button

This kind of personification is a kind of fun that we never

As soon as I wake, Will Power helps me get out of bed. Then I

Tony Tanner said that a pun is like an

This last example is a case of once-

We refer to the movies as the big screen or to

In a popular joke about the Lone Ranger show, Tonto

Actress Betty Grable was called The Million

In a Brant Parker Wizard of ID cartoon, a girl

Chuckles the Clown on the Mary Tyler Moore

Henry Clay declared that he ³would rather be

Here are some more examples of ±eugma:

Sid Caesar said that tequila is ³our national drink´

Then he added, ³And it keeps our cigarette lighters

A Wall Street Journal cartoon by D. Cresci pictured a

³You were never lovelier, and I think it¶s a shame.´

³One swallow does not a summer make, but Humpty Dumpty

³Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you may be

An apple a day keeps the doctor away; an onion a day keeps