tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32636283.post1473050756022733275..comments2023-03-26T03:50:25.501-04:00Comments on David's Secret Blog: ShibbolethUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32636283.post-50548033418259897952008-06-25T14:48:00.000-04:002008-06-25T14:48:00.000-04:00Oh, I knew what he meant. But it's ambiguous and i...Oh, I knew what he meant. But it's ambiguous and in an ironic way.<BR/><BR/>In terms of missing, he didn't really miss anything, since he never uses any of those homographs as homographs.<BR/><BR/>One should always keep a supply at hand for torturing children and foreigners, because if you ask them what word it is, <EM>they're always wrong!</EM>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32636283.post-59162719612570585332008-06-25T14:20:00.000-04:002008-06-25T14:20:00.000-04:00aog: Some of those I assume he missed because he'...aog: Some of those I assume he missed because he's British.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, "bass", the guitar tuned one octave lower than regular guitars, rhymes with efface and they might not fish for bass (rhymes with ass) in England.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16902329503560660425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32636283.post-60959485952271384232008-06-25T14:00:00.000-04:002008-06-25T14:00:00.000-04:00Well, it goes off the rails a bit here ...Face, bu...Well, it goes off the rails a bit here ...<BR/><BR/>Face, but preface, not efface.<BR/>Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.<BR/><BR/>... because "bass" can rhyme with "glass" but and not "efface", if it's a fish.<BR/><BR/>I think he should have used more homographs, like "moped" (vehicle/action), "tier" (level/knotter), or "unionized" (grouped/no longer an ion). Those really demonstrate the arbitrariness of the language.<BR/><BR/>Hmmm, he did get "tear" (eye water/rip) and "wound" (injured/tightened). But no "dove" (bird/leap in to water)?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32636283.post-35045632425566759492008-06-25T13:12:00.000-04:002008-06-25T13:12:00.000-04:00Hey, we haven't done this for a while:"I once knew...Hey, we haven't done this for a while:<BR/><BR/>"I once knew a guy from Quebec,<BR/>English lessons had left him a wreck,<BR/>Outmatched by a vowel<BR/>He threw in the towel<BR/>And on Molson blew each welfare check."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32636283.post-25394747129306035872008-06-25T09:10:00.000-04:002008-06-25T09:10:00.000-04:00Great.Now I've got the line, "I once knew a guy fr...Great.<BR/><BR/>Now I've got the line, "I once knew a guy from Quebec/" stuck in my head.Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16902329503560660425noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32636283.post-31330985011032052772008-06-25T00:57:00.000-04:002008-06-25T00:57:00.000-04:00I think I might have known the same guy, except he...I think I might have known the same guy, except he was from <A HREF="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madawaska,_Maine" REL="nofollow">Madawaska</A>.joe shropshirehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12183662262318452612noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32636283.post-30508040213896943072008-06-24T21:50:00.000-04:002008-06-24T21:50:00.000-04:00I once knew a guy from Quebec who described his ef...I once knew a guy from Quebec who described his efforts to learn English in language class. He was trying to master all the vagaries of pronunciation contained in your verse and was finding it very tough. One day he was assigned an oral reading that contained the word "salmon", and of course he pronounced the l. When he was corrected, he asked the teacher why it was silent and was told "just because it is". He thereupon blew a gasket, stormed out of the class and swore never to speak another word of English again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32636283.post-72249046337380883332008-06-21T19:28:00.000-04:002008-06-21T19:28:00.000-04:00Never saw this one before - very good. Only in En...Never saw this one before - very good. Only in England, but how did he know about Arkansas?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32636283.post-73139873930271513052008-06-21T14:24:00.000-04:002008-06-21T14:24:00.000-04:00Love it.Love it.erphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09826044412670324694noreply@blogger.com