Ambiguity,%20Puns,%20and%20Visual%20Ambivalence

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Ambiguity, Puns,and Visual Ambivalence

• by Don L. F. Nilsen and
• Alleen Pace Nilsen

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The Reindeer Conundrum
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Do you like this poem?

• Time flies like the wind.
• Fruit flies like bananas.

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• Love Means Nothing in Tennis.
• Love ? French Loeuf (the egg)
• Note that in English we have the expression
  Goose egg for zero.

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Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland

• The mouse says, I have a long and sad tale.
• Alice responds that she can see that the mouses
  tail is long, but asks, why do you call it sad?
• This is ambiguous in speech, but not in writing.

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A NO. 1

• Two graduates of Iona College in New Rochelle,
  New York, started a pizza shop that they named A
  No. 1. This was Iona spelled backwards.
• The college sued on the grounds of a misuse of
  the Iona identity.
• The judge sided with the graduates, saying, At
  best, the similarities that do exist can be
  interpreted as a satirical play on familiar
  symbolism.

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Visual Ambiguity Personification
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THE AMBIGUITY PARADOX

• Almost all words and sentences are ambiguous, if
  they are not seen or heard in the larger context.
• However, the larger context (both linguistic and
  non-linguistic) resolves almost all of the
  ambiguities
• Except when the speaker is intentionally trying
  to be ambiguous...
• As with linguists and politicians.

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AMBIGUITY

• Flying planes can be dangerous.
• The missionaries are ready to eat.
• Jacob Mey says that in real life, there is no
  such thing as ambiguityexcepting in certain,
  rather special occasions, on which one tries to
  deceive ones partner, or keep the door open to
  more than interpretation.
• This happens when we are trying to figure out a
  social situation.
• It also happens when we are teasing or seducing
  someone.

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A Triple Pun

• There is a ranch in Texas named Focus. The
  rancher on this farm is in charge of his three
  sons, who feed the cattle and mend the fences and
  make sure that the cattle make it to market.
• When asked why he named his ranch Focus, the
  rancher replied,
• Because thats where the suns rays meet.
• NOTE Its also where the sons raise meat.

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DEFINITION OF PUN

• The English meaning of pun, which comes from the
  Italian word puntiglio meaning fine point, is
  the humorous use of a word in such a way as to
  suggest two or more of its meanings or the
  meaning of another word similar in sound.

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Pun or Metaphor?
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WHAT SAMUEL JOHNSON SAID ABOUT PUNS

• People that make puns are like wanton boys that
  put coppers on the railroad tracks.
• They amuse themselves and the other children, but
  their little trick may upset a freight train of
  conversation for the sake of a battered
  witticism.

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• In spite of this criticism, Johnsons poetry
  contains many puns, just as Shakespeares does.
• The best puns are those that fit so well into a
  conversation that they increase the level of
  understanding for those who catch on without
  interrupting the conversations flow for those
  who miss the point.
• For example in Romeo and Juliet, when Mercutio is
  bleeding to death he says, Ask for me tomorrow
  and you shall find me a grave man.
• It was at this point that Romeo and Juliet
  changed from a comedy into a tragedy, because now
  the mercurial and comic Mercutio was dead.

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MARKETING TIME MAGAZINE

• Time flies (1924)
• Time marches on! (1932)
• Time to get the facts (1932)
• Time its brief (1938)
• Its Time (1944)
• Time---to get it straight (1951)
• A man hardly ever has Time all for himself (1954)
• This is the time to start reading Time (1960)
• Make time for Time (1989)
• Understanding comes with Time (1994)

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JOHNNY CARSON AS KARNAK THE MAGNIFICENT

• On his Tonight Show routine as Karnak the
  Magnificent, Johnny Carson was given the answers
  to which he would provide the questions, which
  often relied on puns.
• The answer is Catch-22
• The question is, What would the Los Angeles
  Dodgers do if they were hit 100 pop flies?

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BOAT NAMES

• Nauti By Nature
• Ahoy-Vey
• Pier Pressure
• Berth Control
• Harvey Wharfbanger

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Is this humorous?
Putin on the Ritz
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PUBLIC CUTESPEAK

• Mustards Last Stand (a hot dog restaurant)
• The Wizard of Ooze (a septic tank cleaner)
• Currier and Chives (a catering service)
• Wreck-Amended (an auto body shop)
• Curl Up and Dye (a beauty shop)
• Author Dennis Baron likens such names as these to
  overripe camembert. He calls them public
  cutespeak and conjectures that enjoying these
  names has to be an acquired taste.

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Context is important!
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PUNS THAT WORK

• The Ford V-8 was a car with a V-shaped block and
  8 cylinders.
• V8 Vegetable juice reapropriated the term.

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CULTURAL AMBIGUITY

• In 1960, when Jack Paar told a mildly risque
  story about a WC, the network censored him,
  causing him to walk off his show for a week.
• The story was about a Swiss schoolmaster who
  misunderstood a British womans request for
  information about the W.C.
• The school master thought the woman was asking
  about the Wayside Chapel, but was instead
  asking about the Water Closet (British for
  toilet).

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• The schoolmaster wrote, The W.C. is situated
  nine miles from the house. It is capable of
  holding 229 people and is open on Sunday and
  Thursday only. I would suggest that you come
  early, although there is plenty of standing room
  as a rule. A good number of people bring their
  lunch and make a day of it. It may interest you
  to know that my daughter was married in the W.C.,
  and it was there that she met her husband. I can
  remember the rush there was for seats. There
  were 10 people to a seat usually occupied by
  one.

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LEXICAL AMBIGUITY

• On a Garbage Truck Our business is picking up.
• Ad for Cheese Cheese can make you a hero this
  weekend.
• On a Drapery Shop After 35 years, weve finally
  got the hang of it.
• Optometrists Sign Theres more to a vision
  examination than meets the eye.
• Ad for Aspirin We go to a lot of pains.

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SYNTACTIC AMBIGUITY

• A man goes into a restaurant draggng a 10-foot
  alligator. He manages to get the alligator
  stuffed under a table.
• When the waitress approaches, he asks her if they
  serve senior citizens here. Of course, she
  says.
• Good, he answers. Give my alligator a senior
  citizen, and Ill have a cheeseburger.

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MORE SYNTACTIC AMBIGUITY

• Stan Kenton wrote a song entitled, Celery Stalks
  at midnight.
• Charles Ulrich wrote a riddle Q Do you know
  what good clean fun is? A No. What good is it?
• In the Frank and Ernest comic strip, Frank says
  to a real estate agent, Sure, wed like to see a
  model home. What time does she get off work?

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The Unknown Bell Ringer

• Many years ago the city of Paris awoke every
  morning to the ringing of bells. But the bell
  ringer was very old, and he decided to have his
  young and stupid brother take on the job as bell
  ringer.
• On his first day, the younger brother slipped,
  and hit the bell with his head, and fell to the
  ground below. When the passersby were asked who
  he was, one of them responded, I dont know his
  name, but his face rings a bell.
• The young bell ringer recovered, and returned to
  the bell tower, but when he tried to ring the
  bell, he slipped again, and fell to the ground
  below. When the passersby were asked who he was,
  one of them responded, I dont know his name,
  but hes a dead ringer for his brother.

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• In Bud Blakes Tiger comic strip, a little boy
  reports, Im gonna be in the school play. When
  his mother asks, What part? he responds, All
  of me.

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FROM LINGUISTICS TEXTBOOKS

• The governor is a dirty street fighter.
• Did you ever see a horse fly?
• I cannot recommend him too highly.
• Could this be the invisible mans hair tonic?
• He gave her dog biscuits.
• Its the worlds largest war surplus store.
• Cynthia left directions for her Dad to follow.

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NORMAN STAGEBERGS EXAMPLES

• Dance Hall Sign Clean and decent dancing every
  night except Monday.
• Law School Questionnaire How many faculty
  members do you have, broken down by sex?
• Conference Speech I have discussed the high
  cost of living with several women.
• Diner Sign Wanted Man to scrub floor and two
  waitresses.

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JOHN CROSBIE THE PUNDIT

• In 1979, John Crosbie, a Canadian writer and
  publisher, founded the International Save the Pun
  Foundation, which publishes a monthly newsletter,
  The Pundit, and produces a list of the Ten Best
  Stressed Puns of the Year.
• After Crosbies death in 1994, Norman Gilbert, a
  financial planner in Toronto became Chairman of
  the Bored.
• More than 1,500 members from around the world
  belong to the organization, which also gives a
  POTY award to the Punster of the Year.
• The year that author and collector Richard
  Lederer won, he said as part of his acceptance
  speech at the annual April First dinner in
  Chicago, A good pun is like a good Steak---a
  rare medium well done.

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Some Business Names
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A Triple-Pun Holiday Greeting!
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In Conclusion
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WEBSITES ON PUNS

• BAD PUNS
• http//www.badpuns.com
• JOKES BASED ON PUNS
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v6tDRBb0apDg
• PUN OF THE DAY
• http//www.punoftheday.com/
• PUNPUNPUN.COM
• http//www.punpunpun.com/