# Fling me a non-English pun, please **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 15, 2005, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730 "2005-12-15T15:30:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![AThingWithFeathers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@AThingWithFeathers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AThingWithFeathers)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730/61 "2005-12-18T04:29:45Z")
My friend has a sticker on his guitar that says Fermez la (picture of Bush with his confused/gaping expression). Fermez la bouche means shut up in French. (And is just about the only French I know.) ---
**Author:** ![zagloba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/977dab/32.png) [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2005, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730/62 "2005-12-18T06:42:51Z")
Plus, that sticker calls Bush a woman (_la_ being the feminine article). ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730/63 "2005-12-19T00:30:29Z")
If the OP is reasonably good at French pronunciation, he/she might want to try to get a hold of a book called [Mots d’Heures: Gousses, Rames](http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140057307/103-2125855-7459040). It purports to contain fragments of medieval French poetry, with English translations and annotations explaining why the French used is unfamiliar to modern ears. An example from the book is [here](http://www.aescon.com/aesconsulting/french/num1): > [@](#): > > Un petit d’un petit > S’étonne aux Halles > Un petit d’un petit > Ah! degrés te fallent > Indolent qui ne sort cesse > Indolent qui ne se mène > Qu’importe un petit d’un petit > Tout Gai de Reguennes. The annotations explain that this is the story of a child _(Un petit d’un petit)_ of a youthful marriage, who is surprised at the sight of the great Parisian market (_les Halles_), etc. etc. Pretty dull, huh? Especially if you use it as a text for teaching French to English-speaking kids. Until, that is, you get them to read it aloud, and watch the light bulbs appear over their heads, as they realize that the **entire book** is a convoluted translingual pun, whose theme is (don’t read the spoiler if you want to experience the joy of figuring it out yourself):The French text is homophonic with English-language nursery rhymes. Thus “\* Mots d’Heures: Gousses, Rames\*” = “Mother Goose Rhymes”, and “Un petit d’un petit” = “Humpty Dumpty”. It’s quite a _tour de force_. ---
**Author:** ![MisterThyristor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecccb3/32.png) [@MisterThyristor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MisterThyristor)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730/64 "2005-12-19T04:00:40Z")
I know _Les Miserables_ had some French puns that had to be footnoted in the English translation. One that I recall is that the students that formed an organization called _Les amis des abaisses_ (friends of the downtrodden) could pass themselves off as being pro-literacy (_Les amis des ABCs_ – pronounced the same way). (Please excuse any misspelling.) ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730/65 "2005-12-19T08:49:37Z")
What do you call this? (Speaker makes a clawlike gesture with the hand, fingers down, and pulses them together a few times.) Pusit. (Tagalog for “squid”) What do you call this? (Speaker turns the hand upwards and repeats the motion.) Op-pusit. What do you call two Pilipino pilots? A pair o’ pliers. (Tagalog and most other Philippine languages lack an “f” sound.) ---
**Author:** ![Antonius\_Block](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/51bf81/32.png) [@Antonius\_Block](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antonius_Block)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 11:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730/66 "2005-12-19T11:25:02Z")
Just thought of another one. In France, there’s a type of cookie/biscuit called a [Petit Beurre](http://directory.20un.com/manufacturers/companies/2978/Petit_Beurre.html) (literally, “little butter”). So, one kid asks another “what’s the plural of _un petit beurre_?” To which the other kid replies “_des touyoux_”[sup]1[/sup] At which point they both start singing: _Un p’tit beurre, des touyoux Un p’tit beurre, des touyoux_… (i.e. “Happy Birthday to You”, a song known to many French kids.) [[sup]1[/sup]spelling may vary since it’s a word invented for the joke.] ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730/67 "2005-12-19T14:08:16Z")
> [@Antonius Block](#): > > It’s quite a _tour de force_. :eek: Wow! I did not see that coming! Awesome! ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730/68 "2005-12-19T14:17:19Z")
What do you call the biggest tissue in the world? A hyu-ji. (Hyu-ji is Korean for tissue.) English-Korean pun jokes went through a faze here, a few years back. The huge/hyuji one is the only one I can recall. (Just as well, I suppose.) ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730/69 "2005-12-19T14:28:32Z")
> [@Robot Arm](#): > > I was taking a German class in college, and a few weeks into the course we each had to write a short essay about ourselves. I said it “sounds Ich-y.” Nobody got it. How quintessentially German. :dubious: From the Sage of Des Moines, Bill Bryson, I pass along this “holorime,” a poem or phrase that is essentially one long pun because it can be heard as two totally different sentences. **French:** _Par le bois du Djinn, ou s’entasse de l’effroi, Parle! Bois du gin, ou cent tasses de lait froid!_ **English:** When going through Djinn’s woods, surrounded by so much fear, Speak! Drink gin or a hundred cups of cold milk. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/96bed5/32.png) [@Cat\_Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Jones)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730/70 "2005-12-19T14:38:22Z")
A down at heel old man is drawn to the windows of a tea salon in Cardiff, inside two posh ladies of a certain age are taking tea, their lapdogs are also at the table "Now Beethoven would you like a little bit of cakey? " says one to her dog, “Ah yes Mendelssohn must have his little pastry too” says the other. The old man looks down at his mongrel, “Well, well, Beethoven and Mendelssohn, there’s daft names for dogs. Come along then bach.” ‘bach’ is the Welsh for little and often used as a term of endearment ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730/71 "2005-12-19T14:42:32Z")
I made one up in Hong Kong that my Cantonese mate was initially bemused by, and then thought was hilarious. \*Kung hei fat choi! - San ning fi lo! Lai see dow loi? - Diw ley lo mo.\* [spoiler]Health, wealth and happiness! - Happy new year! Give me some lucky money? - Go and fuck your mother. The first three phrases are what you say at New Year. The third is what unmarried people traditionally say to married ones, and receive a red envelope containing money. The final line is an unexpected response to a reasonable request. But it rhymes.[/spoiler]In the formal way they did it in those days, Nelson and Napoleon are having a pre-battle meeting before Trafalgar. Eventually it is time to do battle. Napoleon looks at Nelson and says “to the water: it is the hour”: _A l’eau, c’est l’heure._ ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [December 19, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730/72 "2005-12-19T15:38:06Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > The priestly order founded by Saint Dominic is, quite naturally, named for him. In English, we would call the members of this order “Dominicans.” In Latin, that would be _Dominicanes_. > > Of course, if you split the Latin word into two parts thus – _domini canes_ – you get “the hounds of the Lord.” Well, that was the original name of the order. They ran the Inquisition, and were supposedly seeking out sinners like a hound sniffs out its quarry. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/fling-me-a-non-english-pun-please/335730.md?page=3)