...For you are crunchy and good with mustard 5

[Ladyazh]

I just saw someone's sig that sounded like Tracy's.
Here it is:

Do not trifle with wizards, for it makes them soggy and hard to light.


Is this from the same treasure box do you think? Is this some way of saying things that have a definition? Please, elaborate if anyone will.

 

[SantaMufasa]

Lady,

These are treasures (IMHO)...they represent a line of humour in English writing that pre-dates William Shakespeare. That type of humour includes the notions of irony, "double entendre", and the world's "lowest form of humour, The Pun."

BTW, (without my being unintentionally condescending) do you catch the whimsy of the "trifle" signature?

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[Mthales]

I believe that you will find that most of these types of lines are derived from this

Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.

M

--------------------------------------
Are respectable professionals in considerable peril merely by being in my presence?
---Emma the Mad (or the Well-Beloved)

 

[Trevoke]

Where's the pun in the sentence that Ladyazh posted?

"That time in Seattle... was a nightmare. I came out of it dead broke, without a house, without anything except a girlfriend and a knowledge of UNIX."
"Well, that's something," Avi says. "Normally those two are mutually exclusive."
-- Neal Stephenson, "Cryptonomicon"

 

[SantaMufasa]

Where's the pun in the sentence that Ladyazh posted?

Last time that I soaked a wizard in trifle, he did get so soggy that he was hard to light. <grin>

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[Trevoke]

Ok... So I guess I'll go look up what trifle is. Thanks.

"That time in Seattle... was a nightmare. I came out of it dead broke, without a house, without anything except a girlfriend and a knowledge of UNIX."
"Well, that's something," Avi says. "Normally those two are mutually exclusive."
-- Neal Stephenson, "Cryptonomicon"

 

[SantaMufasa]

...So I guess I'll go look up what trifle is...

Until you taste authentic trifle, you'll never know what it is...You'll have the same reaction as Homer Simpson has with doughnuts. <wide grin>

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[SF0751]

A trifle is an English dessert dish made from a mixture of thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, jelly/jello and whipped cream. Most trifles contain a small amount of alcohol (port, sweet sherry or madeira) - non-alcoholic versions use fruit juice instead, as the liquid is necessary to moisten the cake.


Susan
"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls, and looks like work." - Thomas A. Edison

 

[SantaMufasa]

Susan,

Your simply describing a good trifle makes me want to break early for lunch at our local "London Market".

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[2ffat]

The last time I soaked a wizard with anything, he was VERY quick to anger. Which explains why I'm still a toadie at the office.


James P. Cottingham
-----------------------------------------
^{I'm number 1,229!
I'm number 1,229!}

 

[Ladyazh]

Is this some form of saying where nothing should make sense?
Could we try to make up our own, I can't seem to understand what is that suppose to be and how it is born.

 

[Trevoke]

The original sentence is from JRR Tolkien (The Lord of the Rings) :

Do not meddle in the affairs or wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.

A well-known T-shirt now says,
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.

The quote may have appeared for several reasons, maybe only for fun, maybe from a subculture called 'otherkin', I do not know.

From there, you can indeed make up anything you want, but you should try to make it funny.

"That time in Seattle... was a nightmare. I came out of it dead broke, without a house, without anything except a girlfriend and a knowledge of UNIX."
"Well, that's something," Avi says. "Normally those two are mutually exclusive."
-- Neal Stephenson, "Cryptonomicon"

 

[SantaMufasa]

Lady,

From what (little) I know of the rich literary heritage from your nation of origin, there are many examples where authors use plays on words, innuendo, perhaps even puns to entertain their audience.

Unfortunately, I have no knowledge of humourists or comedians from your nation of origin, and the techniques for making their audiences laugh, but I'll bet that you could probably relate several humourous anecdotes from your youth that depend upon word play, puns, and other techniques to make us laugh.

I have heard multilinguists assert that one measure of one's "literacy" with a non-native language is whether or not one is comfortable with, or understands, the native humour. That is why I admire your interest in understanding the subtleties of English/American humour.

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[Dagon]

What would be the correct term for that then ? Pastiche ?

 

[SantaMufasa]

Ladyazh,

It's interesting how different cultures/languages deal with humour. There exists a perception (on both the left and right side of The Pond) of "British Humour" (as compared to "American Humour").

It is interesting to me, as well, how other cultures don't expect humour out of non-native speakers of the local language. As an example, a typical greeting amongst Hispanics is:

¿Cómo es usted? (How are you?)

Muy bien, gracias. (Very well, thank you.)


or, alternately,

Estoy cansado. (I'm tired.)

But you should see the puzzled looks and double takes from the listener(s) when my unanticipated response (with a straight face) is:

Estoy cansado, casado, casado, y cazado.

When you ask someone, even in English, "How are you?", rarely does anyone expect, or offer, a response that differs from "The Norm". So when I respond, as above, with a totally unexpected response, especially for a non-native speaker, it really takes them off guard...They ask:

¿Qué? (What?)

I repeat myself, then explain my "Hispanic Homonym Humour":

Estoy cansado, casado, casado, y cazado. (I'm tired, married, housed, and hunted.)

At that point, the listener is genuinely amused that a non-native speaker has made the effort to appreciate the homonymic nuances of their language.

What would be the correct term for that then ? Pastiche ?

It depends upon what you mean by that. I have been known to be a pasticheur on occasion, but before I say "Yes" to your question, I'll impose upon you to clarify your meaning of "that".

Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[Thadeus]

How I learned what does NOT go in a trifle.

Joey: Rach, you're killin' us here, will ya serve the dessert already? Those drunken dancers are waiting!

Rachel: (looking at her trifle) Look at it, isn't it beautiful?

Ross: Yeah, yeah, what is it?

Rachel: It's a trifle. It's got all of these layers. First there's a layer of ladyfingers, then a layer of jam, then custard, which I made from scratch, [Joey and Ross make impressed faces] then raspberries, more ladyfingers, then beef sauteed with peas and onions, [Joey and Ross look like something's wrong.] then a little more custard, and then bananas, and then I just put some whipped cream on top!

[Joey and Ross make confused faces.]

Ross: W-What was the one right before bananas?

Rachel: The beef? Yeah, that was weird to me, too. But then, y'know, I thought “well, there's mincemeat pie,” I mean that's an English dessert, these people just put very strange things in their food, y'know. [To Joey] Oh! by the way, can I borrow some Rum from your place?

Joey: Y-sure!

Rachel: (teasingly) And while I'm gone don't you boys sneak a taste.

Joey and Ross: (faking dissapointment) Okay.

[Rachel leaves]

Ross: Beef in a dessert?! I- no no no, there is no way!

[Ross goes to look in the magazine Rachel got her recipe from.]

Joey: I know, and only one layer of jam?! What is up with that?

[Ross finds that the pages in her magazine are stuck together... combining an English Trifle with a Shepherd's Pie]

~Thadeus

 

[SantaMufasa]

That deserves a whole box of

s, Thadeus !




Mufasa
(aka Dave of Sandy, Utah, USA)
[I provide low-cost, remote Database Administration services: www.dasages.com]

 

[rjoubert]

Thadeus...you left out the best part of that episode...Ross's reaction when he tastes the dessert.

It tastes like feet!

 

[CajunCenturion]

Sounds like a Star Trek episode:

The Truffle with Trifles

--------------
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[AnotherHiggins]

->the best part of that episode

Au contraire! I think the best part of the episode is that Joey likes, nay, loves it!

Everyone else is grossed out, but following Ross's comment, there's this exchange:

Ross: "That tastes like feet."
Joey: "I like it."
Ross: "Are you kidding?"
Joey: "What's not to like?
[tab]Custard? Good.
[tab]Jam? Good.
[tab]Meat? Goooooood."

[tt]_____
[blue]-John[/blue][/tt]
[tab][red]The plural of anecdote is not data[/red]

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