# Can someone explain this colloquial dichotomy?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-this-colloquial-dichotomy/22150>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [June 12, 2000, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-this-colloquial-dichotomy/22150 "2000-06-12T18:51:37Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Me\_Joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@Me\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Joe)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-this-colloquial-dichotomy/22150/1 "2000-06-12T18:51:37Z")

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A comedian on t.v. brought up this paradox once on “Evening at the Improv” and it has bugged me ever since:

People DRIVE their cars on PARKWAYS, and PARK their cars in DRIVEWAYS.

Any linguists out there who can explain this?

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**Author:** ![jmullaney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85e7bf/32.png) [@jmullaney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jmullaney)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-this-colloquial-dichotomy/22150/2 "2000-06-12T18:55:57Z")

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Um…

[http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2\_080.html](http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_080.html)

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**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-this-colloquial-dichotomy/22150/3 "2000-06-12T19:12:56Z")

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I heard one the other night, it had to do with a chicken crossing a road, but I forgot the punchline. Sigh.

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**Author:** ![John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ccd318/32.png) [@John\_Kentzel-Griffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Kentzel-Griffin)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-this-colloquial-dichotomy/22150/4 "2000-06-12T19:25:54Z")

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**CKDextHavn**

The chicken crossed the road for fowl reasons.

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**Author:** ![RM\_Mentock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e274bd/32.png) [@RM\_Mentock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RM_Mentock)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-this-colloquial-dichotomy/22150/5 "2000-06-12T19:59:09Z")

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See, fat angel, you should have come here first, then you wouldn’t have been bugged for so long. Next time, heh?

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**Author:** ![Me\_Joe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@Me\_Joe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Me_Joe)\
**Post date:** [June 12, 2000, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-someone-explain-this-colloquial-dichotomy/22150/6 "2000-06-12T21:09:44Z")

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While it was a few weeks ago, I did do a SD search for this topic, but couldn’t get it to come up. Hunh.

Oh well, at least now I have an answer to ONE of life’s perplexing mysteries…