I had a odd experience with that last night. Sorta similar sorta not.
Upthread I said:
So at the New Year’s party last night I waited until after the countdown, and after the chorus of shouting “Happy New Year”, and after the toasting.
Then said to my companion “For my new year’s resolution I’m taking the rest of the year off.” To my surprise she didn’t really process or respond to that and when I mentioned it again later she’d mis-remembered that I’d made that joke before midnight, not after. And had thought it a stupid inapt thing for a retired person to say at a party a few minutes before midnight.
IOW she was so conditioned to hearing it in the dumb clichéd mode that she completely failed to process the joke in the actual circumstances it was delivered. The idea of taking an entire 365-day year off is certainly novel and fun / funny to me; last time I did that I was about age 3. I’ve been in school or work at least part-year ever since. But as Inspector Clouseau would say: Naaht anymaarrh!
But for her: Whooosh! And we can’t even blame it on excessive drink.
I do something similar with names that lend themselves to jokes; rather than making the joke to the person themselves, given they’ve probably heard similar many times before, I might bring it up with a mutual acquaintance. And never in a mocking or disparaging way. Although now I’ve written it down, I’m not sure even this is a good idea.
There was a letter in Miss Manners column today in the Washington Post. A woman saw her neighbor urinating in his back yard, and wondered what she should do or say, if anything.
In the comments, I almost posted “ask him if everything came out all right.” Thankfully, I stopped myself.
I do have an irrational urge to say “for the homies” whenever in pour out a cup of soda or coffee onto the driveway that’s been sitting in my car for a week. Whether or not there is anyone within earshot to hear my “joke”
This one is confined to the Game Room/ “Celebrity Death Pool” thread. It has two variations: “I picked (person), so of course they’re guaranteed to survive”, and “I took (person) off my list this year, which is a sure death sentence”.
Comforting as an old shoe with the sole hanging off.
Similarly, if one is sitting with one’s friends or family in a restaurant or other public place, and there’s a loud car horn outside, one is supposed to say “excuse me” as if the horn were the sound of one’s flatulence.
I am trying to break myself of the habit on this one. I do not always succeed.
I actually just used one in commenting on FB…following a long and intriguing sentence that likely makes no sense out of context, “That was my favorite (pick a band with a penchant for weird song titles) song.”
Also, “That used to be my wrestling name.” after any kind of weird description.
