| Author |
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T. Z.
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 2:55 am
Post subject: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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Two guys go into a coffee shop and order coffee and
espresso.
The waiter delivers the first order to the wrong guy,
so he says,
"No, I'm coffee and he's espresso."
This is facially nonsensical, but I think this is
uttered pretty often by educated adults. Do you
agree?
What are some other examples of such facially
nonsensical utterances?
I'm interested in examples in other languages as well.
Thanks.
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Areff
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 7:32 am
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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T. Z. wrote:
| Quote: | Two guys go into a coffee shop and order coffee and
espresso.
The waiter delivers the first order to the wrong guy,
so he says,
"No, I'm coffee and he's espresso."
This is facially nonsensical, but I think this is
uttered pretty often by educated adults. Do you
agree?
|
The only thing nonsensical about it is that espresso *is* coffee, yet the
statement seems to assume otherwise, so to say. .
-- |
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Maria Conlon
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 8:30 am
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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T. Z. wrote:
| Quote: | Two guys go into a coffee shop and order coffee and
espresso.
The waiter delivers the first order to the wrong guy,
so he says,
"No, I'm coffee and he's espresso."
This is facially nonsensical, but I think this is
uttered pretty often by educated adults. Do you
agree?
What are some other examples of such facially
nonsensical utterances?
I'm interested in examples in other languages as well.
Thanks.
|
The use of "facially" here is unusual, I think. Is it meant as "on the
face of it"? That is, "on the face of it, this seems nonsensical"?
Anyway, "I'm coffee and he's espresso" would not surprise me, but I
think it's generally "I'm the regular[1] coffee and he's the espresso."
[1] In view of Areff's comment.
(At first I thought this was going to be a joke. ["Two guys go into a
bar..."])
Maria Conlon
We could use a good joke right about now.
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Rowan Malin
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 10:30 am
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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"Maria Conlon" <mariaconlon001@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2inb7bFpcd8gU1@uni-berlin.de...
| Quote: | T. Z. wrote:
Two guys go into a coffee shop and order coffee and
espresso.
The waiter delivers the first order to the wrong guy,
so he says,
"No, I'm coffee and he's espresso."
|
[snip]
| Quote: | (At first I thought this was going to be a joke. ["Two guys go into a
bar..."])
Maria Conlon
We could use a good joke right about now.
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OK: "Two guys walk into a bar..., one says 'OW! That really hurt!'"
Alright, I'll get my coat. |
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Spehro Pefhany
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 11:06 am
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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On Tue, 8 Jun 2004 22:30:07 -0400, the renowned "Maria Conlon"
<mariaconlon001@hotmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: | (At first I thought this was going to be a joke. ["Two guys go into a
bar..."])
Maria Conlon
We could use a good joke right about now.
|
John Kerry walks into a bar and the bartender says "Hey, buddy, why
the long face?"
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
--
"it's the network..." "The Journey is the reward"
speff@interlog.com Info for manufacturers: http://www.trexon.com
Embedded software/hardware/analog Info for designers: http://www.speff.com |
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Molly Mockford
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 12:55 pm
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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At 22:30:07 on Tue, 8 Jun 2004, Maria Conlon
<mariaconlon001@hotmail.com> wrote in <2inb7bFpcd8gU1@uni-berlin.de>:
| Quote: | We could use a good joke right about now.
|
Waiter to diner: "Are you the breaded haddock, sir?"
Diner: "No, I'm the poor sole with an empty plaice looking for
something to fillet."
--
Molly Mockford
I think I've been too long on my own, but the little green goblin that
lives under the sink says I'm OK - and he's never wrong, so I must be!
(My Reply-To address *is* valid, though may not remain so for ever.) |
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David
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 2:01 pm
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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In article <2inb7bFpcd8gU1@uni-berlin.de>, Maria Conlon
<mariaconlon001@hotmail.com> wrote:
| Quote: | Anyway, "I'm coffee and he's espresso" would not surprise me, but I
think it's generally "I'm the regular[1] coffee and he's the
espresso."
[1] In view of Areff's comment.
|
One assumes that the term "regular" as used here is a USism meaning
"plain" but what if this establishment regularly serves espresso?
--
http://www.dacha.freeuk.com/yds/5sb-0.htm
The Yorkshire Dialect Society: Summer Bulletin |
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David
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 2:04 pm
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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In article <xKOkalp8RrxAFwku@molly.mockford>,
Molly Mockford <nospamnobody@mollymockford.me.uk> wrote:
| Quote: | At 22:30:07 on Tue, 8 Jun 2004, Maria Conlon
mariaconlon001@hotmail.com> wrote in <2inb7bFpcd8gU1@uni-berlin.de>:
We could use a good joke right about now.
Waiter to diner: "Are you the breaded haddock, sir?"
Diner: "No, I'm the poor sole with an empty plaice looking for
something to fillet."
|
And the service was necessarily slow because they only served kippers.
--
http://www.dacha.freeuk.com/gay/02-0.htm
My dog has no nose!
My cat has no claws... |
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Dave Fawthrop
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 2:33 pm
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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On Wed, 09 Jun 2004 09:01:22 +0100, David <david@dacha.freeuk.com> wrote:
| http://www.dacha.freeuk.com/yds/5sb-0.htm
| The Yorkshire Dialect Society: Summer Bulletin
Oops You reorganised the web site, but forgot about the sig links
--
Dave Fawthrop <dave hyphenologist co uk>
Killfile and Anti Troll FAQs at
http://www.hyphenologist.co.uk/killfile. |
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Ron Hardin
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 3:19 pm
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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They take on the identity of their orders.
--
Ron Hardin
rhhardin@mindspring.com
On the internet, nobody knows you're a jerk. |
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Matthew Huntbach
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 3:24 pm
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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In uk.culture.language.english T. Z. <Use-Author-Address-Header@[127.1]> wrote:
| Quote: |
Two guys go into a coffee shop and order coffee and
espresso.
The waiter delivers the first order to the wrong guy,
so he says,
"No, I'm coffee and he's espresso."
This is facially nonsensical, but I think this is
uttered pretty often by educated adults. Do you
agree?
What are some other examples of such facially
nonsensical utterances?
|
Ignoring the coffee/espresso issue, what is actually happening here is that
"I'm coffee" is a shortening of "I'm the one who's having coffee".
For the waiter, the only thing that matters about the customers is what they
have ordered, so the waiter is going to see them as essentialy "coffee" and
"espresso" i.e. in terms of what they ordered.
Similarly, a medical practitioner will see patients in terms of their
diseases. One can imagine a doctor in a urology ward asking "Are you the
kidney stone or the bladder infection?". That wouldn't be good bedside
manners, but they certainly do talk like that amongst themselves.
Matthew Huntbach |
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Claus Tondering
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 4:11 pm
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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"T. Z." <Use-Author-Address-Header@[127.1]> writes:
| Quote: | What are some other examples of such facially
nonsensical utterances?
I'm interested in examples in other languages as well.
Thanks.
|
I'm not sure if this qualifies, but here goes:
In Danish it is quite common to say "The price is xxx per nose"
instead of "The price is xxx per person". I presume it started as a
joke, but it has become so common that hardly anybody considers it
weird any longer.
--
Claus Tondering, Denmark |
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Michael Hemmer
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 4:32 pm
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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Claus Tondering wrote:
| Quote: | In Danish it is quite common to say "The price is xxx per nose"
instead of "The price is xxx per person". I presume it started as a
joke, but it has become so common that hardly anybody considers it
weird any longer.
|
Is's much the same in German, providing cartoonist Martin Perscheid with
the basis for what could be called a 'graphic pun':
http://www.martin-perscheid.de/shop/ci-pages/mp2053.html
Michael |
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Phil C.
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 5:00 pm
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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On 09 Jun 2004 12:11:55 +0200, Claus Tondering <claus@tondering.dk>
wrote:
| Quote: | "T. Z." <Use-Author-Address-Header@[127.1]> writes:
What are some other examples of such facially
nonsensical utterances?
I'm interested in examples in other languages as well.
Thanks.
I'm not sure if this qualifies, but here goes:
In Danish it is quite common to say "The price is xxx per nose"
instead of "The price is xxx per person". I presume it started as a
joke, but it has become so common that hardly anybody considers it
weird any longer.
|
We used to say "a (k)nob" in Britain to indicate "per person" though I
can't say I've heard it recently. An entry fee of "a bob a nob" meant
"a shilling each". I assume this referred to the head though, for all
I know, ladies may have got in free.
--
Phil C. |
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Demetrius Zeluff
Guest
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| Posted: Wed Jun 09, 2004 5:54 pm
Post subject: Re: "I'm coffee and he's espresso." -- facially nonsensical |
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"Maria Conlon" <mariaconlon001@hotmail.com> wrote in news:2inb7bFpcd8gU1
@uni-berlin.de:
[snip]
| Quote: | This is facially nonsensical, but I think this is
uttered pretty often by educated adults. Do you
agree?
|
[snip]
| Quote: | The use of "facially" here is unusual, I think.
|
I parse it as "factually".
| Quote: | We could use a good joke right about now.
|
A doctor goes shopping. He's at the checkout and goes to sign his cheque
when he realizes that he's holding a rectal thermometer. "That's just
great" he says, "some arsehole's got my pen".
(Kind re-writing and punctuation advice welcomed.) |
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