another play on words that slipped by me

[Steve Vander Ark]

No: HPFGUIDX 24899

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., scaryfairymary at h... wrote:
> I have to say that reading all the HP books and coming from the 
right 
> hand side of the Atlantic, there are alot of plays on words that 
you 
> don't notice until the third or so reading, but I do find it 
> interesting that such an, in my opinion, obvious pun escapes the 
> American audience.

But how could we know? I've never heard the term "fairy lights" in my 
life, and I've been a fan of British comedy for almost thirty years. 
I've watched countless television shows, read scripts, etc. and that 
term has never come up. Same with Night Bus. This is NOT an obvious 
pun to anyone outside the UK.


  It is kind of sad that the richness of the text 
> gets somewhat diluted in the translation (maybe there should be 
> footnotes included in the American edition?)

Or maybe there should be an annotated version. Hmmm...

Steve Vander Ark
The Harry Potter Lexicon
http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon