back to books Re: doublets / langue / traffic

[Geoff Bannister]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "Carol" <justcarol67 at ...> wrote:

Geoff asked:
> > Are you referring to the "Dummies" book? I think I threw my copy
> away when I got a Mac..... :-)
 
> Carol again:
> Yes, I was referring to the Dummies book. "Macs for Dummies" will do
> if there's such a thing. (I hate Macs myself, but I realize that Mac
> fans are passionate in their belief that Macs are superior.)

Geoff:
I used Acorn computers which dominated the UK education scene 
during the 1980s and early 1990s and then had a PC for six years 
from 2000 and switched to a MAc Mini two years ago. I am not 
necessarily passionate that Macs are superior - I have just had far 
better performance and less problems.

Have /you/ used a Mac? If not, why do you hate them?

> Carol earlier: 
> > > Carol, not "getting" the Tom Swiftie is that's what "blandly" is
> > 
> > Geoff:
> > Sorry, you'll have to explain this one; I'm left scratching my head
> in puzzlement.
> 
> Carol again:
> Sorry about that. My sentence contains a spelling error ("Tom Swifty"
> is spelled with a "y," not an "ie") and a stupid typo, "is" for "if."
> I was assuming that "he said blandly" was a Tom Swifty and that you
> were deliberately creating one (as Annemehr did in her response, where
> "he said bytingly" is an obvious pun).
> 
> A Tom Swifty is a type of pun in which the adverb or other description
> of the words spoken puns on the words themselves. 

Geoff:
I wasn't punning quite so much on the word but that "innocent" and 
"bland" can be used in similar situations, perhaps making a provocative 
statement and keeping a straight face.

Geoff
(considering the situation dispassionately)