January 09, 2005, 20:29
wordcrafterFrom an old joke
Old joke: Three bachelors were kidding their married friend. . . ."You've been married five years now, George," said one, "and still no childeren? Is your wife" (and here he tried a very bad pun) "unbearable?" . . .Or," interjected another, "perhaps she's inconceivable?" . . ."Maybe she's, uh, impregnable," joked the third. . . .George shook his head sadly. "No, boys, you're all wrong. She's insurmountable and inscrutable."A thorough logophile would have more puns here. Let us look at some words that would fit punningly, and look at their true meanings.
George shook his head sadly. "The woman never even stops talking. She's simply not
mutable."A pun, because in fact
mutable is not a form of
to mute, make silent.
mutable – prone to change; inconstant;
also, capable of change or of being changed
[The antonym,
immutable, is more frequently used.]
Jack and Emily were the monikers most frequently given to boys and girls in England and Wales last year. Jack has been tops for a decade, and favourite boys’ names only shuffle their order over time. But Emily has been No 1 for just two years, and girls’ names tend to be more mutable, changing with fashion.
– The Times, Jan. 5, 2005
January 13, 2005, 19:43
wordcrafter George is punning on these two words:
bedabble -
(trans. v, from 'dabble') to dabble upon; to sprinkle or wet
beddable -
(informal, from 'bed') sexually attractive or available
His face was round, white, pockmarked and bedabbled with sweat like a Cheshire cheese. - Susanna Clarke, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell: A Novel
I stared upon his blood-bedabbled breast
And sang my malediction with the rest.
- William Butler Yeats, A Woman Young and Old
He still runs away from danger when he can, still seduces, or is seduced by, every beddable woman, still lies, flatters, and cajoles without scruple.
- Anthony Lejeune, book review in National Review, July 10, 1995
Adrienne Shelley, star of Sudden Manhattan, says: "I got a call in my car on my way to an audition from my agent. He said, 'The important thing is that they think you are beddable.'" - Nigel Reynolds, Hollywood femmes fret about 40, London Daily Telegraph, May 18, 2002