# he reads to us from something called 'Ulysses'. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 9, 2014, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891 "2014-10-09T20:15:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 16
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/301 "2014-10-24T18:58:26Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > Sez you. I asked my folks who were around at the time, and there was a wide, wide range within those 25 people…most in their 40s-late 50s. Sez me. In order to be at the _upper end_ of the audience that was listening to “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” in 1960, a member of that audience would have to be age 17, meaning he or she was born in 1943. At the lower end, let’s pick an arbitrary age of 8, which means a birth year of 1952. These individuals would be 62 to 71 today, not in “their 40s to late 50s.” Someone in their 40s, even their late 40s, would not have yet been born in 1960. Someone who was at the upper end of your sample group would have been five years old in 1960. Please explain to me how he or she would have grasped the implications you impute to “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.” So much for “around at the time”! > [@](#): > > But the data doesn’t match your preconcieved prejudices so you simply handwave it away. No, unlike you, I deal with the specifics. > [@](#): > > Sez you. > > You have the most _bizarre_ view of music. Would you like me to dig up a bunch of Cole Porter songs from the '30s and '40s with outright sex and drugs lyrics that scored high on Billboard? Music has never been the virginally pure thing you imagine it to be. > > Or do you want to try to handwave: > > “When Grandmama (who’s age is 80) > In nightclubs is getting mate-y > with gigolos… > Anything goes” > > as being about anything other than grandmama hiring gigolos to get “mate-y” with? > > or > “Some get a kick from cocaine > But I knew that if > I took even one sniff > It would bore me terriffically too. > 'Cause I get a belt out of you” > > or > “Birds do it > Bees do it > Even educated fleas do it > Let’s do it” > > etc. > > All circa 1940, and all re-recorded and hits by Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald etc in the '50s and played on the radio in both eras nary the blink of an eye. And all of them targeted to an _adult_ audience, not a teen one. The type of music being made for and consumed by teenagers didn’t exist as far as mass culture is concerned until 1955 at the earliest. This music played by an entirely different set of rules than music made before that. Also, music was not “played on the radio” in the 30s and 40s the way it was once the concept of Top 40 radio, with its playing of the same songs over and over multiple times a day, took hold in the mid- to late-1950s. In fact, the playing of records on the radio itself was all but unknown until the latter part of the 1940s. The vast majority of music performances on the radio were live, and one-time events. Did you hear the same song more than once? Sure, but not nearly to the extent these songs were heard from the mid-1950s forward. Music in the home was primarily heard on a record player, and if some songs were perceived as too “adult” for young ears, they wouldn’t be played in their company. As for your examples: **Anything Goes** “Getting matey” can be understood in the same way the term “make love” was understood in the day. Hint: it did NOT mean “have sex” at that time. (This is a side issue I’ve always been fascinated by too…the evolution of the meaning of that term over the years. Perhaps the subject for another thread.) By the way, according to Wikipedia, the definition of “gigolo” is: > [@](#): > > …a male escort or social companion who is supported by a woman in a continuing relationship, often living in her residence or having to be present at her beck and call. The gigolo is expected to provide companionship, to serve as a consistent escort with good manners and social skills, and often, to serve as a dancing partner as required by the woman in exchange for the support (which is contrary to typical norms). Many gifts such as expensive clothing and an automobile to drive may be lavished upon him. The relationship **may** include sexual services as well, when he also would be referred to as “a kept man”. [emphasis mine] In my experience, the gigolo has always been at least as interested, if not more so, in a woman’s money as opposed to her sexual favors. This would certainly be the case with an 80-year-old “grandma.” **I Get a Kick Out of You** (Note correct title and lyric.) What you’ve left out is that, while Ethel Merman’s original stage version had the cocaine line, once the song appeared in the movies, Porter altered the lyric to “Some like the perfume in Spain,” and most subsequently recorded versions have used this or some other variation. **Let’s Fall in Love** You have, of course, conveniently omitted the line that immediately follows the ones you quoted…which is the title phrase, “Let’s fall in love.” So once again, a completely innocent and acceptable line is provided as an available alternate interpretation for what may also be meant to be somewhat “naughty.” ---
**Author:** ![DChord568](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@DChord568](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DChord568)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/302 "2014-10-24T18:59:50Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > Heck go back to the 19-aughts: “I Love, I Love, I Love My Wife–But Oh, You Kid!” all about infidelity. > > Anyone who thinks pop music was some sort of virginal playground in the middle of the 20th century wasn’t paying attention. > > [Here](http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2014/06/sex_and_pop_the_forgotten_1909_hit_that_introduced_adultery_to_american.html)’s an interesting article on “But Oh, You Kid!” See the post before this one for adult vs. teen music. I will bet you $100 you that I was paying more attention to pop music from the 1960s forward than you were. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/303 "2014-10-24T19:32:06Z")
“They say that spring means just one thing to little lovebirds We’re not above birds LET’S MISBEHAVE.” ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/304 "2014-10-24T19:37:39Z")
All of this is so irrelevant, in my opinion. All someone had to know was the book was adult and a little naughty for the joke to work. ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/305 "2014-10-24T19:59:39Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > I will bet you $100 you that I was paying more attention to pop music from the 1960s forward than you were. Ooooooh!!! How big is your dick? ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/306 "2014-10-24T20:00:04Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > Thanks for your effort. I’ll respond just to this… > > This is unwarranted, and frankly, insulting on several levels. You started with the insults. If you can’t take it, don’t dish it out. Furthermore, I only insulted your sense of humor, not your intelligence. > [@](#): > > First, I’ve demonstrated, several times, that a humorous interpretation of the couplet with Homer rather than Joyce is more than possible. Not convincingly. > [@](#): > > And I will demonstrate, in time, that this interpretation is not unique to me. I won’t hold my breath. [quote] I’ve also noted that there is no requirement whatsoever that every single line in this song be laugh-out-loud funny. Some lines are already less funny than others. For example, the main humor in the early line about “poison ivy” is the clever rhyme with Joe Spivey. This is true, in the main, of several other of the song’s couplets as well. “All the counselors hate the waiters” doesn’t exactly make me fall to the ground in helpless laughter either. And in fact, there’s very little humor content in the song’s entire bridge other than the bear and the “one whole day” bit. [quote] Only the second line in each couplet gets a laugh. The first line is a set-up. This requires counting, which may be beyond your pay grade. > [@](#): > > Your position, and everyone else’s, seems to be that if the Ulysses line is not about Joyce, then the entire song collapses into unfunniness. That’s nonsense. I don’t know where you got that idea. It only applies to the one couplet. And you still haven’t addressed my point, which is that the internal structural issue you point to is merely a weakness and not proof of a different interpretation than yours. > [@](#): > > I find, and have always found, that Sherman’s song is plenty funny without resorting to Joyce. And I have a lot of company — namely, the greater percentage of people who bought the single and/or have listened to it for the past 51 years **who don’t even know that there’s such a thing as a book by James Joyce called _Ulysses_**. > > (This is another $100 bet I’d be glad to make, by the way.) > > My sense of humor is just fine, thanks. OK, I’ll take your word for your sense of humor. I’ll have to, since you haven’t shown any evidence of that yet. You’re right that the SONG is funny with or without the Joyce reference. The COUPLET isn’t. That was my point, so your argument isn’t applicable. BTW, I wouldn’t be so insulting if you hadn’t started, and hadn’t made it so easy by pretending to be smarter than everyone else while missing what’s obvious to everyone but you. But I’ll refrain from that for the rest of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/307 "2014-10-24T20:12:56Z")
Allan Sherman sure was delicate and afraid of offending people: > [@](#): > > Now Big Bad Jim was an ordinary slob > Till the day Glen Wallis come and give him a job > He was just a trumpet player when he was young > But all the ladies loved him for his triple tongue > That’s Big Jim > Big Bad Jim. > > Jim can still remember that bygone day > When he did a lot of blowing with Alvino Ray > First he blew the rhythm section > Then he blew the brass > Then he blew the rest of local 802 en masse By the way, apparently this is the song that got him noticed and led to the signing with a label, eventually leading to “A Letter From Camp.” ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/308 "2014-10-24T20:18:22Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > See the post before this one for adult vs. teen music. > > I will bet you $100 you that I was paying more attention to pop music from the 1960s forward than you were. I think you and I have a different definition of “paying attention.” And also “persuasive argument” and apparently “sense of humor.” ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/309 "2014-10-24T20:41:09Z")
> [@Fenris](#): > > 1960–Shirelles, Will You Love Me Tomorrow (out of wedlock sex…very obvious sex too) And according to Wikipedia: > [@](#): > > However, Owens recalled on Jim Parsons’ syndicated oldies radio program, Shake Rattle Showtime, that some radio stations had banned the record because they had felt the lyrics were too sexually charged. ---
**Author:** ![Fenris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fenris/32/498_2.png) [@Fenris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fenris)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/310 "2014-10-24T21:14:18Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > (Note correct title and lyric.) What you’ve left out is that, while Ethel Merman’s original stage version had the cocaine line, once the song appeared in the movies, Porter altered the lyric to “Some like the perfume in Spain,” and most subsequently recorded versions have used this or some other variation. Except the Frank Sinatra version from 1953 on Capitol Records and a bunch of others…so, yeah…if we ignore all the facts in evidence, you’re right. And I love the way you’ve now moved the goalposts from “There were no dirty songs” to “Well, maybe there were some vaguely dirty songs, but they were for adults”. Ignoring your magic new “No Adults” rule, let’s talk Rogers and Hammerstein–huge sellers, and off the top of my head: _“They got a big thee-ater They call a ‘burley-que’ Fer fifty cents yuh can see a dandy show. One of the gals is fat ‘n’ pink ‘n’ pretty As round above as she was round below I could swear that she was padded from her shoulder to her heel But later in the second act, when she began to peel She proved that everything she had was absolutely real She went about as far as she could go.”_ Strippers getting naked…for \< gasp \> money. Carousel: _To ladies and men are payin’ court. Lotsa ships are kept at anchor Jest because the captains hanker Fer the comforts they ken only get in port!_ Women for hungry sailors…probably prostitutes. \< gasp \> King and I \*I do not like polygamy or even mod’rate bigamy I realize That in your eyes That clearly makes a prig o’ me! (and later in the song ) In your pursuit of pleasure, you Have mistresses who treasure you They have no ken of other men Beside whom they can measure you A flock of sheep and you’re the only ram No wonder you’re the wonder of Siam! \* Polyamory, out of wedlock sex (mistresses–not wives. His wives are mentioned elsewhere) and implied forced sex. And that’s from the first three shows and off the top of my head. All of these were made into movies and all of them were considered family pictures. (they changed one of the lines in Oklahoma, but he’s still talking about a stripper) So ignoring your silly, goalpost-moving “Teen songs only” desperate attempt to avoid the fact that you’ve lost, there’s another three easy examples. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/311 "2014-10-24T21:16:35Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > Sez me. > > In order to be at the _upper end_ of the audience that was listening to “Will You Love Me Tomorrow” in 1960, a member of that audience would have to be age 17, meaning he or she was born in 1943. At the lower end, let’s pick an arbitrary age of 8, which means a birth year of 1952. > > These individuals would be 62 to 71 today, not in “their 40s to late 50s.” Someone in their 40s, even their late 40s, would not have yet been born in 1960. Someone who was at the upper end of your sample group would have been five years old in 1960. Please explain to me how he or she would have grasped the implications you impute to “Will You Love Me Tomorrow.” > > So much for “around at the time”! That 62-71 age cohort would include me. And even my youthful, naive mind told me the Shrielles were singing about SOMETHING more than going steady. Sez me! ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/312 "2014-10-24T21:56:51Z")
For the most part, posters here have striven to be courteous–partly because it’s the SDMB and that’s the standard here, of course. But another explanation, I suspect, is that many of us have had the experience of being in the thrall of Motivated Reasoning. Many of us have gotten heavily invested in a position. It’s hard to change an entrenched viewpoint and pull back to see the bigger picture. The bigger picture, in this case, is surely that Allan Sherman was writing a piece of comedy (in song form). Is that in dispute? In writing this piece of comedy, Sherman came up with a list of elements that were comically unlikely, comically exaggerated, and/or comically inappropriate: [ul] [li]Poison ivy developed after a hike[/li][li]Ptomaine poisoning from a dinner[/li][li]Universally-hated waiters[/li][li]Alligators in a New York State lake[/li][li]Being read to from “something called Ulysses”[/li][li]Malaria in a bunkmate[/li][li]A missing camper (and a searching party being organized to find him)[/li][li]Boy-eating bears in the forest[/li][/ul] All of these are intended to be _funny_ in their exaggeration, unlikelihood, and/or inappropriateness. They are intended to raise a laugh. They aren’t intended to be a commentary on what a 1960s coach was likely to find inspirational, or what fears a 1960s coach might have had about being criticized for what he read to kids, or anything at all about the real-world sociological aspects of 1960s sleep-away camps. _The references are there to make listeners laugh._ Also, note that none of the references are about boredom-inducing phenomena. Not one. Therefore the “Ulysses” reference is to something that’s comically exaggerated, unlikely, and/or inappropriate–not about something that’s boring. Therefore: James Joyce; not Homer. eta: With the discussion of “boring” or not, I’m responding to the argument that, theoretically, the song’s letter-writing boy mentioned a coach reading from Homer as a complaint that something boring had been experienced (and that therefore his parents should let him come home from camp). In actual fact Sherman was almost certainly having his letter-writer mention something that would alarm his parents (namely, exposure to an inappropriate book). ---
**Author:** ![fanganga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/58f4c7/32.png) [@fanganga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fanganga)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/313 "2014-10-24T22:16:20Z")
I suspect that people may be starting to talk past each other and we may be starting to attack strawman versions of each others’ positions. My position is that Sherman crafted a deliberately ambiguous line; intended for the Joyce interpretation to be available and to be the main punchline, but also intended for other readings to be possible. Where are the rest of you coming from? ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/314 "2014-10-24T22:28:43Z")
> [@fanganga](#): > > I suspect that people may be starting to talk past each other and we may be starting to attack strawman versions of each others’ positions. My position is that Sherman crafted a deliberately ambiguous line; intended for the Joyce interpretation to be available and to be the main punchline, but also intended for other readings to be possible. Where are the rest of you coming from? That James Joyce’s _Ulysses_ was culturally relevant, controversial, notorious, is the only thing called “Ulysses” that makes any sense, fits Sherman’s other work, accords with his having “the James Joyce Singers,” is understood by literary critics to be the work in question, mention of the novel does not in any way violate the mores of the time and, most importantly, is the only funny answer. In 2014, _Ulysses_ has lost most of its controversial reputation, making the joke harder to get for today’s audience. Fitting, considering the incredibly dense and allusive nature of _Ulysses_. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/315 "2014-10-24T22:39:36Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > That James Joyce’s _Ulysses_ was culturally relevant, controversial, notorious, is the only thing called “Ulysses” that makes any sense, fits Sherman’s other work, accords with his having “the James Joyce Singers,” is understood by literary critics to be the work in question, mention of the novel does not in any way violate the mores of the time and, most importantly, is the only funny answer. > > In 2014, _Ulysses_ has lost most of its controversial reputation, making the joke harder to get for today’s audience. Fitting, considering the incredibly dense and allusive nature of _Ulysses_. What she said. He never meant the line to be ambiguous. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/316 "2014-10-24T22:43:54Z")
> [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > What she said. He never meant the line to be ambiguous. That’s my stand too. Ambiguity is unnecessary, requires mental gymnastics to justify, and detracts from the joke. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [October 24, 2014, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/317 "2014-10-24T23:31:18Z")
I just discovered this thread after following a link from another thread, and I’m astonished that anyone thinks this is ambiguous or debatable. Sherman was _obviously_ referring to the Joyce novel. The arguments against that boil down to “my friends all agree with me” and a willingness to make meaningless $100 bets. ---
**Author:** ![Learjeff](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/94ad74/32.png) [@Learjeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Learjeff)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/318 "2014-10-25T16:54:50Z")
Evidently, “What’d I Say” isn’t about what I thought it was about. Admittedly, it’s not pitched at kids. But Camp Grenada isn’t pitched solely at kids either. It’s a great example of humor that works on both levels, just like a lot of cartoons of earlier eras. Censorship was a funny thing. I don’t think an unambiguous reference to Joyce would have tripped the hammer. It went over kids’ heads, which was fine. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/319 "2014-10-25T23:14:09Z")
> [@DChord568](#): > > I’ve provided just as much, if not more reasoning for my position as those who espouse the Joyce theory have. You may disagree with my reasoning, but you can’t say it doesn’t exist. > > A more accurate statement would be that you can reason someone out of a position they’ve decided up front is the only possible position that can be taken. This description fits only one camp here. Not to dig too far back, but I came into this thread assuming the reference wasn’t to Joyce and with an interpretation not _too_ far off yours. The evidence and argument along with a cursory look into Sherman’s other work has convinced me unquivocally otherwise. I’d be curious what the results of your informal survey would be if you asked your respondants to peruse this thread. I genuinely think that the folks arguing the opposite opinion to you have given more extensive, more supported, and more satisfying answers. Your position seems to hinge more on an aesthetic / moral aspect, which I absolutely understand but which I just don’t think holds water. You seem caught up on the idea that Sherman’s song was the bawdiest thing on the radio at the time. Well…maybe it was. Novelty songs can get away with a lot sometimes, and the fact that this particular reference would easily fly over the head of most kids might have gotten some leeway as well. Something had to be the raciest song on the radio until “My Ding a Ling” came along. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2014, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891/320 "2014-10-25T23:17:03Z")
> [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](#): > > That’s my stand too. Ambiguity is unnecessary, requires mental gymnastics to justify, and detracts from the joke. It’s better than unambigious, it’s _juuuuuuuuust_ barely ambiguous enough to maybe slip by the '60s pop radio censors. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891.md?page=15) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/he-reads-to-us-from-something-called-ulysses/700891.md?page=17)