Questions tagged [word-play]
For questions about using of words in a clever way to make a joke or imply multiple meanings simultaneously. Some examples are puns, double entendres, mixed metaphors, malapropisms, syllepsis, and tongue twisters.
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EC and Beef Mountain (The Bible According to Spike Milligan)
I was reading The Bible According to Spike Milligan and came across these sentences:
15 And God said, Behold, I have given you the first of free yielding seed, to you this shall be meat, but to the ...
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Do you get the gist of this little text?
It is on T.S.A. account on Instagram:
"Allow us to deliver some flamin’ hot tips that should catapult you to success. It’s not a flight of passage to bring the most obvious prohibited item in ...
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What is the meaning of "rush of battle"?
There is a quote that says:
The rush of battle is a potent and often lethal addiction, for war is a drug, one I ingested for many years.
Chris Hedges
Does "rush of battle" means to go ...
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What does "I put the X in XYZ" mean?
I've recently faced the expression "to put X in XYZ" in a post (which I think was promoting a product). And I found out this is kind of a popular expression in some memes and also there is a ...
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What does "quacked up" mean in the sentence below?
Being a penguin was not what it was "quacked up" to be, eh? (Sarah & Duck Series 1 Episode 2)
I guess "what it was "quacked up" to be" basically means "what it ...
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What is the meaning of "peace-cow"?
Gisela: And also this girl whom Sihtric loves, you will not belittle her.
Guhtred: She is an alehouse whore.
Gisela: And what is Aethelflaed? What is a peace-cow if not a whore?
Note: Aethelfaed is ...
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What is the meaning of "Dog ate my car"?
I was watching a movie called The book of Henry. One day Henry's mother goes to work late. Her manager told her, "Late again!", and she replied, "Dog ate my car." So, I heard about ...
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A better parody of “traitors, Rattlesnakes and alligators” [closed]
The song "Union Dixie" (the very opposite of "Dixie") sings: "Away down South in the land of traitors, rattlesnakes and alligators. Right away! Come away! Right away! Come ...
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Does "kitty hoax" have a meaning in English?
While talking with a group of people about the early days of aviation and especially about the Wright brothers, in the context of the small May 1904 article and a presentation video you can see below, ...
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The word play in The Association song Along Comes Mary
Does the phrase “Sweet as a punch” in the context of this song mean sweet as a drink AND “pleasant” as a strike with the fist? Do I understand the word play in Along Comes Mary by The Association ...
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'Don't Blame It On I' vs. "Don't blame it on me"
There is a song called "Don't Blame It On I" by The Congos.
Is there any wordplay associated with this phrase? Usually, we say "Don't you blame it on me".
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"I'm caught by the tail." (I = a tiger) Does the wordplay work? Is it ambiguous?
"catch/have a tiger by the tail" is an idiom we all know.
I'm writing some quotes for a character, who is a tiger.
Can the tiger say "I'm caught by the tail"?
The sentence somewhat ...
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"The writing is on the wall for the wall itself." Does the word-play work?
I know the idiom "the (hand)writing on the wall", so I make the sentence. However, I'm not sure.
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meaning: Mr. Just About
Does "Mr. Just About" make sense as a nickname for someone who does not care about precision?
I'd appreciate your help.
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meaning of pun with 'tackle the piano'
The situation : A repaired all music instrument waiting B. And B comes back with a piano.
A: I just finished my repairs... And I was about to tackle the piano, though that might hurt.
B: hahaha I ...
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Beatles song. "Love me do" as "Love me too" [closed]
When I've heard this song I've thought that there was "Love me too" .May be this is example of word playing? Maybe native speakers can hear this song the same way?
Love, love me do
You know I ...
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"flank" on T-shirts
I saw branded T-shirts that have "flank" on it.
I know flank means that side part of the body above hips.
Is there any other cool meaning?
Is it sarcastic or something?
I wonder if it really meant ...
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4
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Can you please explain this joke: "I'm going bananas is what I tell my bananas before I leave the house"?
Can you please explain this joke: "I'm going bananas is what I tell my bananas before I leave the house"?
And another one: "I hate it when my friends ask me to do them a solid especially when I've ...
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What does “If you were a chicken, you would be impeccable”
I found this in pickup lines but I am not sure what exactly means , I was looking in the net but could not find exact definition or synonym? Can you help me with the meaning usage of this?
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Dialogue consisting of questions and answers?
Is there a specific word for a dialogue between two characters in a play or novel, where that dialogue only consists of questions and answers?
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Does the name of episode 12 in season 2 of the Daria series, "Pierce Me", have a sexual meaning?
The name of episode 12 in season 2 of the Daria series is "Pierce Me". The episode is about body piercing, however, in the Russian language (my native one) the literal translation of this episode's ...
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What does "do sea on classes" mean?
I see this sentence on https://twitter.com/jfbastien/status/1003697787911966720
A: I've made my submissions for @cpponsea, have you?
B: Sorry, I only do Sea on Classes 🙃
C: you can do ...
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Meaning of 'visceral betrayal'
Brazos: We are not looking for that here. No brown-nosing. No suck up.
No toolery.
Brazos: Why is Shontel using what appears to be a red cup from the red
floor when we are on the yellow ...
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What does "go on my tires" mean?
From the movie To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar
In a drag queen contest, a muscular man passes the winner envelope to a past drag queen, who says to the audience of the muscular man:
...
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Grammatical mismatch in wordplay-based joke
In the following joke:
How do you hire a horse?
Stand it on four bricks.
The humor seems to come from the homophones hire and higher. Is that so? Because this is grammatically incorrect (to ...
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Why do the police say "Freeze"?
Where does this originate? Why not say Halt or just Stop or something like Stay put?
I can understand the meaning of the word Freeze perfectly well.
Is it a classic word-play or just a set term for ...
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What does 'Don't blame it on the pig!' mean?
In the Disney movie 'Moana', Tala who is a grandmother of Moana said "Whatever just happened... blame it on the pig."
I've googled and found some headlines like 'Flu? Don't blame the pig', so guessed ...
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Don't understand the Garfield's sketch of Feb 9 2017 [closed]
I read Garfield's comic strip every day but I didn't understand the sketch of February 9, 2017. What does the date of November 8, 1992 refer to ?
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Why is 7 the most feared number?
I was in a computer programming training. A code executed an output number 7 and the trainer asked ( assuming joking) "Why is 7 the most feared number?" and someone said "Because 7,8,9 ... aho ho ho.."...
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Correctness of expression "More X than the peanut butter aisle"
Disclaimer. It is not a question on the meaning of the expression. Repeat. Not about what the message it conveys.
I've seen somewhere the expression below.
More X than the peanut butter aisle.
I ...
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What does this joke mean?
Q: What do you call it when Batman skips church?
A: Christian Bale
Does the word 'Bale' have a special meaning in this joke?
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What is a turn-down service?
I'm sensing that it's not a real service but rather some specific play on words.
As shown in the image.
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The meaning of the word Facebook
In the word Facebook what do face and book particulary mean?
I think that face means biography, a self-portrait, a history of a person.
And book means a catalogue like in A book of spells.
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Help understanding these cake puns from a CNN Student News video
The paragraph below is cited from November 10th, starting at 9:39. Here is the transcript.
Some might say it looks a little un-oven, or that its expression's a little frosty. But it's a cake artist'...
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What is the cup of coffee meaning in "cutie pie"
I've stumbled upon this image of a narrow angle, coffee cup and the mathematical symbol of pi.
I get its reference to acute and pie, meaning a cutie pie.
But what on Earth is the coffee cup ...
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Phrasal verb, slang or a word for gather around or to look at something or someone with joy [closed]
I'm looking for a slang, phrasal verb or a word that explains people looking at something or someone. E.g. when people gather around a new-born baby and look at it with joy. Or when someone is looking ...
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Why "some one who 'incorrects my English'" "incorrects my English" is a word play?
According to the comment of Kent Anderson to this question:
https://workplace.stackexchange.com/q/44581/26185
Q: How to deal with a customer who “incorrects” my English?
the title to this question is ...
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"To mingle from single"
Which one is correct out of the below two? If possible, I request that you give a justification also.
1) He is going to mingle from single.
Or
2) He is going to mingle to single.
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Is there a specific name for manipulating English language this way
Few days ago a football player named Harry Kane showed great performance, next day the newspaper posted "Hurricane beats Arsenal"
Everyday I pass by a money/cash/loans shop that shows an advert "YOU ...
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the meaning of pun
A girl posted a photo of her with her friends in facebook captioned as "We are so sweet."
So I thought of commenting in the photo as: If you are really so sweet, I want to taste both of you. Also with ...
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Meaning in context: Old men like me don't bother with making points. There's no point
The following dialog is taken from the movie The.Matrix.Reloaded.2003:
Councillor: ...What is control?
Neo: If we wanted, we could shut these machines down.
Councillor: Of course. That's ...
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What's the meaning of "Grandma doesn't do Anaheim" and why is it funny?
I was watching Two and a Half Men and ran across this joke I don't understand. There is a laugh track that makes me think it is supposed to be funny. What is the meaning and why should I think it is ...
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That which doesn't kill you
This is a "Hot Network Question" from another site that I thought would make a great question here.
The Joker: "I believe whatever doesn't kill you, simply makes you stranger." (Clip from The Dark ...
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