O/T - A funny from my email.

wasions · #1 04-02-2002, 11:08 AM

Prepositional Promenade

QT Grammar "R" Us Seminar on the English Language (cont'd):

Nelson Mapel, an Internet reader, e-mails:

"You asked if anyone could end a sentence with six prepositions. I submit the following poem by Morris Bishop in answer to that question, and then some."

The poem reads:

I lately dropped a preposition:
It fell, I thought, beneath my chair.
Annoyed, I quickly cried, "Perdition!
Come up from out of in under there."
Correctness is my vade mecum
And loose constructions I abhor;
But then I thought, "But what should he come
Up from out of in under for?

Anyone care to try for eight?

Aredubjay · #2 04-02-2002, 12:30 PM

Um? That's funny? Sounds like everyday talkin', down here where I come from. As a matter of fact, if you think about it, if a dog is under the porch (or your little sister), it's quite exact to say, "You get back here from down in under there." The word "back" would indicate "from whence you came." "Here," says that you want them to come toward you and that you are located at the point of origination. "From" tells you not to remain, but to move away from the spot where you are located. "Down" would indicate that you have gone below something (the porch). "In Under" is a modifier to "Down" to indicate that the space is small (if it were a sinkhole, the sentence would leave out "In Under" since there's no chance of bumping your head). And, of course, finished off with "there," indicating the point from which to originate your journey to the point of orignation.

See. Simple.

Then there was the girl from Kentucky, who sat between the two New York girls on the plane. "Where y'all from?" Asks the young lady from Kentucky. One of the New York ladies replied, "We're from a place where you do not end your sentences with prepositions." The demure Kentucky girl thought for a moment and asked, "Where y'all from . . . bi*ch?"

svxter · #3 04-02-2002, 01:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Aredubjay
Um? ... it's quite exact to say, "You get back here from down in under there." The word "back" would indicate "from whence you came." ...

Oh, Randy, Randy, Randy, your linguistic skills fail you. The preposition "up" belongs between "back" and "here", as in: "You get back up here from down in under there". Now, doesn't that read much better?

LarryIII · #4 04-02-2002, 01:46 PM

Randy, Steve,

As Budweiser sys, "WAZ UP!"

Larry III

Aredubjay · #5 04-02-2002, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by svxter

Oh, Randy, Randy, Randy, your linguistic skills fail you. The preposition "up" belongs between "back" and "here", as in: "You get back up here from down in under there". Now, doesn't that read much better?

You are correct sir. My mind was sullied by the given example. Mea Culpa.

Aredubjay · #6 04-02-2002, 03:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LarryIII
Randy, Steve,

As Budweiser sys, "WAZ UP!"

Larry III

Hmmm. My Budweiser NEVER says that. However, it can cause strange noises AFTER ingestion.

Beav · #7 04-02-2002, 04:41 PM

Gee....it must be a tremendously terrible thing to have no work to do at where you go to do it at out there.

Beav

Uncamitzi · #8 04-02-2002, 05:15 PM

Ok, this thead lost me back there at the bakery!

#9 04-02-2002, 06:38 PM

Wais,

Those of us from the Mid-West get the joke.

Randy (Stayin here rather than up and over yonder) ii

MNYPNNY · #10 04-02-2002, 08:25 PM

Y'all are giving me a headache!!!
My English teachers are rolling over in their graves!

-- Michelle (have a degree in English, but was raised in the midwest "where y'all from?")

wasions · #11 04-02-2002, 10:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by thndrmtn92svx
-- Michelle (have a degree in English, but was raised in the midwest )

What, in the world, is that supposed to mean?

Ron Mummert · #12 04-02-2002, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wasions

What, in the world, is that supposed to mean?

I guess it means she speaks Plains English.
Hooked on fonix, Ron.

MNYPNNY · #13 04-02-2002, 10:31 PM

Means that I have a license to speak properly....
but I still have the redneck roots......

-- Michelle (how are y'all?)

LarryIII · #14 04-04-2002, 04:32 AM

Subject: Smacked A**
>
> Bill Clinton, George Bush, Janet Reno and Bo Derek are
> riding on a train. After several minutes of the trip, the
> train passes through a dark tunnel and the unmistakable
> sound of a slap is heard.
> When they leave the tunnel, Clinton has a big red slap mark
> on his cheek.
> (1) Bo Derek thought - "That sleazeball Clinton wanted to
> touch me and by mistake, he must have put his hand on Janet
> Reno, who in turn must have slapped his face."
> (2) Janet Reno thought - "That dirty Bill Clinton laid his
> hands on Bo Derek and she smacked him."
> (3) Bill Clinton thought - "George put his hand on Bo Derek
> and by mistake she slapped me."
> (4) George Bush thought - "I hope there's another tunnel
> soon so I can smack Clinton again."

Larry(Can all-a-youse speak Hebronics?)iii
PS: 'All-A-Youse' is New Yorkese for 'Y'all'.

LarryIII · #15 04-07-2002, 06:57 AM

BLIND BUNNY

> Once upon a time, in a nice little forest, there lived a blind little
> bunny and a blind little snake. One day, the bunny was hopping
> through the forest, and the snake was slithering through the
> forest, when the bunny tripped over the snake and fell down.
> This, of course, knocked the snake about quite a bit.
>
> "Oh, my," said the bunny, "I'm terribly sorry. I didn't mean to hurt
> you. I've been blind since birth, so, I can't see where I'm going. In
> fact, I don't even know what I am."
>
> "It's quite okay," replied the snake. "Actually, my story is much the
> same as yours. I, too, have been blind since birth. Tell you what,
> maybe I could kinda slither over you, and figure out what you are,
> so at least you'll have that going for you."
>
> "Oh, that would be wonderful," replied the bunny.
>
> So the snake slithered all over the bunny, and said, "Well, you're
> covered with soft fur; you have really long ears; your nose twitches;
> and you have a soft cottony tail. I'd say that you must be a
> bunny."
>
> "Oh, thank you! Thank you," cried the bunny in obvious
> excitement.
>
> The bunny suggested to the snake, "Maybe I could feel you with
> my paw, and help you the same way you've helped me."
>
> So the bunny felt the snake all over, and remarked, "Well, you're
> scaly and smooth, and you have a forked tongue, no backbone and
> no balls. I'd say you must be either a politician, an attorney, or
> possibly someone in upper management."

Larry III