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jackMost of the social groups I frequent have some such phrase. In theory you could just pass them by, but generally speaking no-one can resist. But there's an amazing variety. It's important regardless of what the actual phrase is, because so many sentences inherently innocent, become amusingly dodgy simply by putting them in a place where people do that to them. So to speak.
I was going to give them letter scores, but decided I couldn't choose between most :)
What other phrases have I missed? Which do you think is actually best?
as the actress said to the bishop -- Universal and traditional. You can use this anywhere, and even if someone hasn't heard of it, they stand some chance of seeing the joke. It's also versatile, allowing you to substitute a wide range of ecclesiatical and/or female figures as the joke requires.
As a matter of fact, does anyone know where this originates? I can trace it as far back as The Saint comics (1928-1963), but assume it was used before that. There are no useful results on google. Was there ever a specific original joke, or was it always used much as it is today?
oo-er -- Used mainly in poohsoc, where it's stopped being a sound and started being a word. Understood universally, I guess, though a bit direct for some company.
A raised eyeborw -- Or a passing smirk. Used by people like Rachel C. and Martin, who are masters at this sort of thing. Subtle, completely missable, but capable of completely cracking you up if they hit you right, regardless of how innocent the original comment was :)
Game -- Anyone who plays the Game (don't ask) would probably understand, though only isolated islands use "game" to mark innuendo consistantly. I believe the larpers/assassins tend to blame Rosy for this? It's secret, in that someone who doesn't know won't have any idea what's going on, but not subtle,. in that it tends to be loud and completely derail the conversation into asking "What? How?"
It has the annoying sideeffect of making everyone think about the game, but the delicious one of making everyone work out some probably obscure connection.
end of point of order -- I think I've only heard SimonT say this, but it's kind of inevitable. It's going to be puzzling for anyone who doesn't know mao, but has a deadpan humour quality which is valuble, and has the key advantage of implying a return to the normal conversation, rather than dwelling on the interruption
NPI -- No Pun Intended. Used online. The irony value is good, but it's generally a lie, and spawns a big argument on what people should have said instead. I tend to ignore this (and reword if *actually* no pun intended).
So to speak -- Possibly my favorite. It works in speach or text, emphasises the original meaning while making the innuendo clear, can be added after a short pause, contains an apology if you actually didn't mean it, and doesn't tend to invite any irrelevemt followup.
(Edit: fix bold/strike coding.)
I was going to give them letter scores, but decided I couldn't choose between most :)
What other phrases have I missed? Which do you think is actually best?
as the actress said to the bishop -- Universal and traditional. You can use this anywhere, and even if someone hasn't heard of it, they stand some chance of seeing the joke. It's also versatile, allowing you to substitute a wide range of ecclesiatical and/or female figures as the joke requires.
As a matter of fact, does anyone know where this originates? I can trace it as far back as The Saint comics (1928-1963), but assume it was used before that. There are no useful results on google. Was there ever a specific original joke, or was it always used much as it is today?
oo-er -- Used mainly in poohsoc, where it's stopped being a sound and started being a word. Understood universally, I guess, though a bit direct for some company.
A raised eyeborw -- Or a passing smirk. Used by people like Rachel C. and Martin, who are masters at this sort of thing. Subtle, completely missable, but capable of completely cracking you up if they hit you right, regardless of how innocent the original comment was :)
Game -- Anyone who plays the Game (don't ask) would probably understand, though only isolated islands use "game" to mark innuendo consistantly. I believe the larpers/assassins tend to blame Rosy for this? It's secret, in that someone who doesn't know won't have any idea what's going on, but not subtle,. in that it tends to be loud and completely derail the conversation into asking "What? How?"
It has the annoying sideeffect of making everyone think about the game, but the delicious one of making everyone work out some probably obscure connection.
end of point of order -- I think I've only heard SimonT say this, but it's kind of inevitable. It's going to be puzzling for anyone who doesn't know mao, but has a deadpan humour quality which is valuble, and has the key advantage of implying a return to the normal conversation, rather than dwelling on the interruption
NPI -- No Pun Intended. Used online. The irony value is good, but it's generally a lie, and spawns a big argument on what people should have said instead. I tend to ignore this (and reword if *actually* no pun intended).
So to speak -- Possibly my favorite. It works in speach or text, emphasises the original meaning while making the innuendo clear, can be added after a short pause, contains an apology if you actually didn't mean it, and doesn't tend to invite any irrelevemt followup.
(Edit: fix bold/strike coding.)
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Date: 2006-07-06 01:58 pm (UTC)Oh, and I have just lost The Game.
Oh, and I have just lost The Game.
Date: 2006-07-06 02:03 pm (UTC)I have heard people who can *say* game without *thinking* it can get other people to lose without losing themselves :)
Re: Oh, and I have just lost The Game.
Date: 2006-07-06 04:55 pm (UTC)I tend to disbelieve them, especially as I use "Game" as a general shortening of "I have just lost the Game".
Re: Oh, and I have just lost The Game.
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Date: 2006-07-06 02:29 pm (UTC)And, er, yes, I have been known to use that a lot where innuendos happen. Other than that I favour 'so to speak'. ;)
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Date: 2006-07-06 02:06 pm (UTC)At school we used to say "arf, arf" or just "ARF!". I don't know a specific origin of that one. I suppose it's just one of the onomatopoeic renditions of laughter, and perhaps the "f" conveys that the laughter in question is a bit muffled, as if you're sniggering behind your hand.
"Gosh!" or "Goodness!" if used in the right tone of voice often works well.
One of my all-time favourites is what
([1] I have a feeling that isn't a word, but it obviously should be.)
"End of point of order": as you say, it's a sort of exhortation to return to the main point of the conversation. I tend to intend it with more of a "don't go there" meaning rather than a generalised "fnarr", so I wouldn't employ it before the innuendo had been commented on at all; it would come into play once it was taking over the conversation and/or becoming excessively squicky :-)
On the same theme, I've heard "Moving swiftly on" (popularised by HIGNFY, I believe) used in similar circumstances.
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Date: 2006-07-06 02:16 pm (UTC)Oh, of course! If I want to maintain my air of innocnce but not miss an opportunity to suggest someone may have [...]ed their [...] into [..]'s [...] or whatever, it's amazingly effective :)
"Wow, you're the guy who...", which didn't surprise me massively, "... invented the Finger of Innuendo!", which frankly did :-)
ROFL, that's priceless :)
OTOH, I find nearly saying something often *more* disruptive. *Sometimes* it cracks people up momentarily as they realise what I didn't say, but as often (either in innuendo context or not) it seems to draw everyone's attention more than anything else...
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Date: 2006-07-09 12:47 am (UTC)Depending on how liberally you interpret it, it could also mean something along the lines of "stop talking" as well; lends a nice air of mystery & confusion.
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