Motus Mentis

11 Comments

1. Kevin Kim says

   I hate to be the turd in the punch bowl, but isn’t such semantic multivalence a feature of any sentence?

   Posted September 16, 2012 at 11:29 pm | Permalink
2. Kevin Kim says

   Ejemplos:

   John hastily ate the hamburger.

   JOHN hastily ate the hamburger. (Not Sue.)

   John HASTILY ate the hamburger. (Not languidly, lasciviously, or viciously.)

   John hastily ATE the hamburger. (He didn’t throw it, scream at it, or rape it.)

   John hastily ate THE hamburger. (Not just any hamburger.)

   John hastily ate the HAMBURGER. (Not the cat or his son.)

   Posted September 16, 2012 at 11:33 pm | Permalink
3. Jeffery Hodges says

   “I hate to be the turd in the punch bowl.”

   Does the meaning change if “to” is stressed?

   Jeffery Hodges

   * * *

   Posted September 17, 2012 at 12:09 am | Permalink
4. Kevin Kim says

   Ha ha — touchÁ©! But the answer is “Yes, if you’re William Shatner.”

   Posted September 17, 2012 at 12:40 am | Permalink
5. Jeffery Hodges says

   I presume that’s pronounced “Shatner.”

   Jeffery Hodges

   * * *

   Posted September 17, 2012 at 12:56 am | Permalink
6. TheBigHenry says

   Does the turd change if it is stressed?

   Posted September 17, 2012 at 3:05 am | Permalink
7. Bill says

   Thanks, guys. I needed the chuckle.

   Posted September 17, 2012 at 9:11 am | Permalink
8. Malcolm says

   Good point, Kevin. Just a bit of froth, this.

   Posted September 17, 2012 at 12:18 pm | Permalink
9. Jeffery Hodges says

   “Does the turd change if it is stressed?”

   Not if it’s a “sturd”! Once a sturd, always a sturd, because stupid turds are sturdy.

   Jeffery Hodges

   * * *

   Posted September 17, 2012 at 5:34 pm | Permalink
10. the one eyed man says

    Dismal? What’s so dismal?

    The Yankees are leading their division, Boston is dead last, and the Giants are crushing the Dodgers.

    (As Bob Hope noted: “in Los Angeles, we have the Dodgers and the Angels. In LA traffic, you’re one or the other.”)

    As we say in New York: what’s not to like?

    Posted September 17, 2012 at 5:38 pm | Permalink
11. TheBigHenry says

    “… , because stupid turds are sturdy.”

    On the other hand (not the one you wipe with), a sturdy-turd can save you money on tp. It’s a worthy-turd for a penny-pincher and/or a pooper-scooper.

    Posted September 17, 2012 at 7:15 pm | Permalink