Re: Who Says Americans Don't Understand Irony?

1

Did the guy wander into a Billy Bragg concert without knowing the politics or did he pay money just to get to shout that?


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10- 6-13 8:55 PM
horizontal rule
2

I mean, I had to google Mr. Bragg, but my dad was only a non-combat veteran so I may have not been told everything.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10- 6-13 9:08 PM
horizontal rule
3

He defended Guam, but apparently Guam was mostly safe by 1951.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10- 6-13 9:10 PM
horizontal rule
4

It is kind of ironic that, decades after standing up to Hitler, the British have such limited rights of free speech, with their McLibel trials and super injunctions and stuff.


Posted by: Natilo Paennim | Link to this comment | 10- 6-13 10:01 PM
horizontal rule
5

We don't all know very much about British freedom of speech, or irony.


Posted by: text | Link to this comment | 10- 6-13 10:06 PM
horizontal rule
6

All British know very much about freedom, or irony of speech, don't we?


Posted by: Natilo Paennim | Link to this comment | 10- 6-13 11:16 PM
horizontal rule
7

six very much embodies irony of some form.


Posted by: text | Link to this comment | 10- 6-13 11:28 PM
horizontal rule
8

Scrambled, I think.


Posted by: teofilo | Link to this comment | 10- 6-13 11:50 PM
horizontal rule
9

I saw a guy at a Fugazi show with a tshirt that said "Keep YOUR politics out of MY music." I am thinking it had to be a joke. (And I think the heckler was being funny too.)


Posted by: oudemia | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 5:44 AM
horizontal rule
10

Politicians do stupid stuff like that all the time- Reagan with Born in the USA, many politicians with an "unbiased" song like This Land is Your Land.


Posted by: SP | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 6:11 AM
horizontal rule
11

Or when Clinton thought that Fleetwood Mac would somehow help attract voters.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 6:14 AM
horizontal rule
12

I earwormed myself on that, but I'm going to blame SP.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 6:15 AM
horizontal rule
13

I earwormed myself

You should probably go to the bathroom to do that. Or Nantucket.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 6:17 AM
horizontal rule
14

Limericks don't count as songs.


Posted by: SP | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 6:24 AM
horizontal rule
15

Although Billy Joel once pointed out that Piano Man is just a bunch of limerick verses.


Posted by: SP | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 6:25 AM
horizontal rule
16

"And the waitress is practicing politics,
as the businessmen slowly get stoned.
They're sharing a drink they call Loneliness,
because they suck at nicknaming."


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 6:30 AM
horizontal rule
17

They're sharing a drink they call Loneliness,
And arguing homed versus honed.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 6:52 AM
horizontal rule
18

Well, we're all in the mood for a melody
But we've got another thing coming.


Posted by: apostropher | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 6:53 AM
horizontal rule
19

Mash-up time.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 6:57 AM
horizontal rule
20

17,18: My cow-orker loves the phrase "six dozen or the other." I know what he means, but how the hell do you get to that?


Posted by: togolosh | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 7:12 AM
horizontal rule
21

18, 19 -- I had a vision of Judas Priest storming onto stage and smashing Billy Joel's piano, and then realized that in this fantasy world I am pretending to be in Judas Priest, and now I'm confused and feel disoriented but still want to smash Billy Joel's piano.


Posted by: Robert Halford | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 7:28 AM
horizontal rule
22

20: I've heard "Six of one and a dozen of the other" and I love it. If only all decisions were that easy.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 8:39 AM
horizontal rule
23

22. IME it means, "nothing to choose between them", so it may make for a difficult decision if you have to pick one and dump the other.


Posted by: chris y | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 8:42 AM
horizontal rule
24

The standard form, "six of one and a half dozen of the other" would be a hard choice to make. The garbled version in 22 is pretty easy.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 8:43 AM
horizontal rule
25

"Sixty-one and a half dozen of the otter" is what I've always heard.


Posted by: Moby Hick | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 8:46 AM
horizontal rule
26

Mr. Robot (Mr. Roboto?) is in Allentown today for work, and I blame him (and Billy Joel) for my current earworm.


Posted by: J, Robot | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 8:48 AM
horizontal rule
27

I frequently misremembered it as "six and a half of one, a dozen of the other." I figured this applied to things with an exchange rate of 13:24.


Posted by: Benquo | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 9:08 AM
horizontal rule
28

Basically I figured it was some archaic reference that used to make sense, like "dollars to doughnuts."


Posted by: Benquo | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 9:09 AM
horizontal rule
29

I've found it amusing for a while that "dollars to doughnuts" now describes pretty even odds.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 9:19 AM
horizontal rule
30

The donut stand at the farmer's market charges three bucks per.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 9:21 AM
horizontal rule
31

This thread made me laugh surprisingly hard. Like, tears. Not that you guys aren't funny, but I'm also really tired at the moment.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 9:35 AM
horizontal rule
32

Which is to say that I needed that.


Posted by: heebie-geebie | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 9:35 AM
horizontal rule
33

The donut stand at the farmer's market charges three bucks per.

Well that's what you have to pay to get them fresh picked from the donut trees.


Posted by: Ginger Yellow | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 9:44 AM
horizontal rule
34

29: We need a new phrase that reflects the reality of inflation.

Jacksons to jellies?
Grants to granola bars?
Franklins to fritters?


Posted by: Benquo | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:26 AM
horizontal rule
35

Sawbucks to sawdust?


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:28 AM
horizontal rule
36

C-notes to cenotes? (work with me here -- a hole in the ground can't be worth much, right?)


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:29 AM
horizontal rule
37

Millions to molehills?


Posted by: Benquo | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:31 AM
horizontal rule
38

Grands to Galettes


Posted by: Benquo | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:32 AM
horizontal rule
39

The problem with "Grands" is that I don't think it's ever pluralized in use -- it's the number, not a name for the bill. That is, "five hundred", in context, means $500, and "five hundreds" means five green rectangular pieces of paper with Franklin's face on them that are collectively worth $500. But no one ever says "two grands" to refer to two rectangles of paper with Grover Cleveland on them.


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:36 AM
horizontal rule
40

39: Gs, then. Gs to Galettes.


Posted by: Benquo | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:39 AM
horizontal rule
41

Clevelands to Cronuts


Posted by: Benquo | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:39 AM
horizontal rule
42

Hundreds to hashbrowns?


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:41 AM
horizontal rule
43

Wilsons to Walnuts


Posted by: Benquo | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:41 AM
horizontal rule
44

Horseshoes to handgrenades?


Posted by: LizardBreath | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:42 AM
horizontal rule
45

Benjamins to bent jam tins.


Posted by: Beefo Meaty | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:45 AM
horizontal rule
46

no one ever says "two grands" to refer to two rectangles of paper with Grover Cleveland on them.

Two non-consecutive pieces of paper, that is.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:47 AM
horizontal rule
47

"New and different": would you describe "and different" as redundant, not quite redundant, or adding substantially significant information to the word "new"?

Once I get into this loop I just can't get out.


Posted by: lurid keyaki | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:47 AM
horizontal rule
48

Euros to euros.


Posted by: ajay | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 10:48 AM
horizontal rule
49

"New and different":
would you describe
"and different"
as
New,
Different,
New and different,
or None -
New and different,
Different,
New,
as
different
describe:
Different and New.


Posted by: Awl | Link to this comment | 10- 7-13 5:06 PM
horizontal rule
50

44: Horseshoes to handgrenades to atomic* bombs as we neighborhood wits would have it back in the day.

Or as Ron Burgundy would say, "Boy, that escalated quickly... I mean, that really got out of hand fast."

*Why we didn't go continue the alliteration with "hydrogen bombs" I don't know, but we didn't.


Posted by: JP Stormcrow | Link to this comment | 10- 8-13 2:47 AM
horizontal rule