# Is there a name for this comic device? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 28, 2001, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-comic-device/52146 "2001-01-28T19:02:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-comic-device/52146/1 "2001-01-28T19:02:09Z")
Example (from a play called Hadrian VII, probably slightly paraphrased, not that it matters): “Go tickle your ass with a feather.” “WHAT did you say?” “I said ‘particularly nasty weather.’” Is there a term for this particular gimmick? That is, a character says something nasty and insulting, then when asked to repeat it by an outraged victim says something perfectly innocous which is phonetically similar. To keep this out of MPSIMS, I suppose we need to try to discuss the technique, not provide fresh examples from “South Park” or other sources. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-comic-device/52146/2 "2001-01-28T19:15:33Z")
Don’t know the name of the device, but Rumpole is a master of it, when addressing the Mad Bull and She Who Must Be Obeyed. (oh, you didn’t want more examples? too late now) ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-comic-device/52146/3 "2001-01-28T19:20:37Z")
I don’t know if there’s a particular name. But I do find the device pretty tired these days. It’s not really all that funny any more. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-comic-device/52146/4 "2001-01-28T19:56:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by yabob \* > \*\*Example (from a play called Hadrian VII, probably slightly paraphrased, not that it matters): > > “Go tickle your ass with a feather.” > > “WHAT did you say?” > > “I said ‘particularly nasty weather.’” > > \*\* FTR, this specific exchange was also used in the (so bad it’s good) movie _Up the Academy_. That said, I don’t know what it’s called. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/50afbb/32.png) [@Duck\_Duck\_Goose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duck_Duck_Goose)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-comic-device/52146/5 "2001-01-28T20:10:13Z")
There’s a thing called a malapropism. > **[Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's most-trusted online dictionary](https://www.merriam-webster.com/)** > > The dictionary by Merriam-Webster is America's most trusted online dictionary for English word definitions, meanings, and pronunciation. #wordsmatter > [@](#): > > Main Entry: mal·a·prop·ism > Pronunciation: 'ma-l&-"prä-"pi-z&m > Function: noun > Etymology: Mrs. Malaprop, character noted for her misuse of words in R. B. Sheridan’s comedy The Rivals (1775) > Date: 1849 > 1 : the usually unintentionally humorous misuse or distortion of a word or phrase; especially : the use of a word sounding somewhat like the one intended but ludicrously wrong in the context > 2 : MALAPROP > > - mal·a·prop·ist /-"prä-pist/ noun > Main Entry: 1mal·a·prop > Pronunciation: 'ma-l&-"präp > Function: noun > Etymology: Mrs. Malaprop > Date: 1823 > : an example of malapropism \ ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-comic-device/52146/6 "2001-01-28T20:22:53Z")
Malapropism doesn’t particularly fit - that generally involves a ludicrous misuse which is unintentional, and the butt of the gag is the speaker who made the mistake. This specific device involves intention on the part the original speaker, and is being used against the character serving as the speaker’s foil (usually an authority figure whom the speaker is getting the intellectual better of). ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-comic-device/52146/7 "2001-01-28T21:09:49Z")
Well dammit, if it doesn’t have a name it needs one. Any suggestions? ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2001, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-there-a-name-for-this-comic-device/52146/8 "2001-01-28T22:14:13Z")
Well, it’s not a malapropism, and it’s spot a noonerism…I mean, not a spoonerism.