Talk:Double entendre
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[edit] Gave her one
Changed "gave it to her" to "gave her one" in the example of a double entendre. That's the way I've always heard it said; I don't know if that's just a local variation, but I think it works better. If anyone disagrees, well, you know where the edit link is.
If a woman asks a man for an example of double entendre, he should always try to give her one. What is this supposed to mean? Dysprosia 11:00, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)
- try to give IT to her.....means try to have sex with her. Kingturtle 11:01, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)
- Thought as much. This was just interspersed in the article, with no explanation that this is an example - I suggest it be left here. Dysprosia 11:03, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)
In other words, the quote itself is proabbly meant to be a double-entendre, and is if Kingturtle's version is used:
- If a woman asks a man for an example of double entendre, he should always try to give it to her.
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- Yes, but how appropriate is this double entendre in the article itself? There is already an example on a sexual double entendre, and I don't think we need another full example. Dysprosia 11:07, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)
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- Because it's a subtle, sublime, and self-referrential example. As long as we don't sacrifice accuracy, no reason not to have fun (and give the reader a smile). If you wish to more explicitly point out that it's an example, go ahead and just do it. orthogonal 11:17, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)
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- If I had my druthers, I'd keep the "give it to her" example and omit the "I have a large one" example. The "give it to her" example is far more witty, an quick. Kingturtle 11:12, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)
- Allow me. Dysprosia 11:13, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)
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- "The large one" is easier to grasp, as it's not as slippery. I vote we leave both. orthogonal 11:18, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)
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- Do we really need both? Is it really best? Having both IMO gives the article a bit of a <ahem> phallic flavour... Dysprosia 11:24, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)
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I find the double entendre example given in the intro to be confusing because it uses the phrase "double entendre" in the joke itself, which would require prior knowledge of what a double entendre is in the first place. The term should not be used in its definition, I think. Perhaps a better example should be placed there? --Poiuyt Man (talk) 08:24, 30 Apr 2005 (UTC)
The phrase "gave her one" is weird. "One" is clearly referring to the double entendre. "It" is a more ambiguous term in this context. 24.215.253.143 15:45, 16 June 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Viz joke? I don't get it
- There is a cartoon strip in the English comic book Viz entitled "Finbarr Saunders and his Double Entendres", about a youngster who enjoys double entendres. When Finbarr detects a double entendre, the cartoonist renders his sniggers as "Fnarr fnarr!", a usage that has entered English slang.
Fnarr Fnarr? can someone explain? Kingturtle 11:10, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)
- I didn't get it either :) Dysprosia 11:12, 16 Nov 2003 (UTC)
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- Read more closely: "Fnar, fnarr" is the noise the character makes when he recognizes a double-entenre. The cartoonist made "Fnarr, fnarr" up, and his readership so loved it (or got such a warm smutty feeling from it) that the usage "entered English slang." It's like Beavis's & Butthead's "huh-huh" noise; wholly made up by Mike Judge or whomever, but embraced by his audience, and repeated, until I, who had never watched the cartoons, had often heard the noise, and understood the reference. orthogonal
[edit] McLean
Perhaps the Don McLean example should be explained. I didn't figure out the innocent meaning until I read it over again several times.
- Easy enough, though explaining a joke of course ruins it. But then, we are not a joke collection. Amusingly enough, I've heard this title a hundred times without realizing it was a double entendre—I never got the racy meaning. How about that? JRM 01:49, 2004 Dec 27 (UTC)
[edit] Waitaminute...
Isn't a double entendre always risqué? The article is now suggesting a double entendre can be any ambiguous phrase, apparently, if the Logos information is anything to go by. Is that really a double entendre? JRM · Talk 23:08, 7 August 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Beavis & Butthead
The "wood getting hard" joke. Is this a double entendre ? I don't "get" the joke, maybe because to get it also requires some sort of cultural understanding of US speech that I don't have. If so, whilst this would be a double entendre, can this be made clear as another feature of them: i.e. locational nuances preventing understanding. The article is, after all, supposed to be clear, and not just a list of gags.--JRL 10:22, 11 August 2005 (UTC)
- "Wood" is a slang term for an erection. A common phrase refers to "waking up with morning wood." Probably it's an American term. Similarly, one might say "I have a woody" (assuming one were male, and one was aroused, of course). There is probably more information at Erection.
- Whether or not the Beavis and Butthead example is a double entendre is, IMHO, debatable. I'm not sure if the King of the Hill refs qualify either, nor do I necessarily agree that innuendo is a synonym for double entendre.
- Ultimately, it seems like this article is going to expose many of the differences between British and American English, particularly slang terms.
[edit] Innuendo
- innuendo n. (pl. innuendoes or innuendos ) an allusive or oblique remark, typically a suggestive or disparaging one" (The Concise Oxford English Dictionary)
- innuendo n. an allusive or oblique remark or hint, usu. disparaging. (The Oxford American Dictionary of Current English)
On the other hand:
- double entendre n. (pl. double entendres pronunc. same) a word or phrase open to two interpretations, one of which is usually indecent. (The Concise Oxford English Dictionary)
- double entendre n. a word or phrase open to two interpretations, one usu. risqué or indecent. (The Oxford American Dictionary of Current English)
In other words, they're not the same. --Mel Etitis (Μελ Ετητης) 11:30, 25 August 2005 (UTC)
[edit] Innuendo isn't just British...
- The article should make that obvious. It's not even primarily British.
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- Agreed! Usually I see a problem with articles having an "Americentric" bias, but here it's the opposite. I like British comedy as much as the next person, but really. Despite the examples from American comedy, there's a whole section on the usage of innuendo and double entendres in British comedy. This is hardly a phrase that is going to change meanings by country, so why the whole section devoted to Britcom? 4.238.27.206 06:32, 27 September 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Daily Show citation
What's with the following commented-out paragraph, immediately following the Bellamy Brothers example?
- What does this have to do with double entendres? This question was caricatured by Mo Rocca in a 2001 report on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart regarding CNN's submission of six videotaped questions to Osama bin Laden, a report that hilariously ended with Rocca asking host Jon Stewart, "ticklemyasswithafeather?", which resulted in what Rocca called in his report, "devastatingly saucy effects."
It seems to be written only to make sense to someone who has actually seen the cited excerpt, although I can imagine what they might be trying to communicate. But it's not at all clear, which is important in an encyclopedia. If this text can't be salvaged as a useful addition to the article, it should just be deleted. ~ Jeff Q (talk) 04:05, 10 January 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Arrested Development
I find the paragraph about AD particularly funny, considering the show also features Tobias whose most recognizable trait is his constant and unintentional double entendres. Not to mention the writer means it to be an example outside British context and still being about British/American English differences (and I'd say any Brit would understand the double meaning of the word in question). I would change the example to one of Tobias' double entendres but I don't have an exact quote and I don't mean to step on the writer's toes here.
[edit] a bit of griping from a french
ideally it should be "double entente" (double understanding/meaning). OK i've now said it. Jerome Potts 08:56, 16 March 2006 (UTC)
[edit] The Simpsons
I've removed the example from the Simpsons; "Anyone up for some penis?" is simply not a double entendre. Tesseran 01:31, 11 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Children
Just out of curiosity, but does anyone really believe that most children (at least, school aged children) won't get the 'hidden' meaning in a double entendre? I would expect to find more double entendres in the conversation at a typical middle school (attempting to hide their discussions from the teachers, etc.) than at a typical office. MagiMaster 20:54, 31 July 2006 (UTC)
[edit] About Children And Interpritation
MagiMaster, the very basic idea of a double entendre is that something has two meanings (or more), and it's more likely for adults to have a larger vocabulary. If a child said, "I prefer hard ones." He may be refering to candy, or book covers, but an adult would perceive the other meaning, probably before they got the intended meaning. A child's double entendre would perhaps be something an adult would not know, IE media aimed at children that was released after said adult passed that age. If a kid made a joke about "Dumbo," I'd get it, because when I was a kid, Dumbo was out, but if they made a joke about "Blue's Clues" I'd probably miss the point. Miss the point could even be taken as a double entendre. ReignMan 03:34, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
- I'm just saying that a lot of the article seems to imply that the purpose of most double entendres is to hide adult meanings from children. (As to whether or not most adults have a bigger vocabulary than most children, it's debateable, but I won't argue.) It may just be TV's influence on me, but, taken out of context, I'd expect many kids (of certain ages) to at least snigger if someone said "I prefer hard ones." MagiMaster 20:01, 6 August 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Copied Content
It seems that a large portion of this article is copied from this page: http://dictionary.laborlawtalk.com/double_entendre
Feeeshboy 16:08, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
- Actually, that page is copied from Wikipedia. It says so right at the end of the article. --LarryMac 16:20, 23 October 2006 (UTC)
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- Well, don't I feel smart? Feeeshboy 06:47, 24 October 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Groucho Marx - Triple Entendre
There is a line in Marx's "African Safari" speech from Animal Crackers that goes "We took some pictures of the native girls, but they weren't developed." This is a rare triple entendre - "they weren't developed" could refer to the photographs, the native civilization, or the girls (i.e. puberty). If this merits mention because of the tripartite meaning, then it should be included. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 128.2.165.10 (talk) 01:55, 8 December 2006 (UTC).
[edit] "Pussy" pun
- For example, in Are You Being Served?, Mrs. Slocombe makes frequent references to her "pussy", such as "It's a wonder I'm here at all, you know. My pussy got soakin' wet. I had to dry it out in front of the fire before I left." A young child or somone of low intellect might find this statement funny simply because of the references to her pussy cat, whereas an adult would detect the innuendo ("pussy" is sexual slang for vulva).
Strange, I thought I had posted a comment about this paragraph some time ago, but apparently I hadn't. Anyway, I think this needs to be reworded, but I'm not sure how, exactly. Here in the United States, the word "pussy", when not followed by "cat", is almost always the sexual term, so the sexual meaning would actually leap to mind more readily than the literal meaning. An older child would certainly get the pun, and I'm not convinced that a typical person "of low intellect" would miss it either. Would the situation really be that different in Britain (even if "pussy" for "cat" is more common)? Even if so, I think it might be better to choose a pun that is easier for a child to miss. - furrykef (Talk at me) 11:17, 9 December 2006 (UTC)
