Need help with Terry Pratchett "pun."

[carlb]

At least, I think pun is the right word.

Having recently journeyed to the world(s) of Terry Pratchett, I have found a number of his puns and plays on words to be quite amusing. Of course, since I’m sitting down and writing this, I can’t think of most of them. But, the Scone of Stone comes to mind, it being a play on the Stone of Scone the piece of rock upon which Scottish kings are supposed to place their feet while being crowned.

The name of one of the most significant places in the Discworld has been preying on my mind ever since I started reading Pterry’s works. Ankh-Morpork. Something is lurking in the shadowy places around the edges of my consciousness, and telling me that I should be recognizing this name as a pun on something, but I’ll be damned if I can figure it out.

Am I wrong? Am I dense? Is it maybe a very English pun that a Yank wouldn’t be expected to get?

Can anyone help me out here?

[Jayrot]

Don’t think there’s any particular joke under the surface there. Here’s the relevant section on Wikipedia

@Wikipedia

Many details of Ankh-Morpork appear to have been inspired by Fritz Leiber’s fictional city Lankhmar (although Pratchett has said “I didn’t – at least consciously, I suppose I must say – create Ankh-Morpork as a takeoff of Lankhmar”[3]).

The most obvious similarities include the names of the two cities, the similar-sounding titles afforded to the respective rulers (a Patrician for Ankh-Morpork, a Patriarch for Lankhmar), the browned-iron equipment that characterises both sets of city guards, some conspicuous buildings (Tower of Art, Rats Tower), the similar names of associated countries (in particular; Klatch and Klesh) and what may be termed a certain general atmosphere. This resemblance is most marked in the earliest Discworld books, and becomes increasing diluted as the series moves away from parody into satire.

[Elsie]

The phrase ‘wank (as in masturbate) my pork’ came to mind reading your post, but not to the mind of the people who wrote the Wiki .

So I’m probably being unnecessarily crude, and I can’t help despite being a compatriot of the Pratchett.

[Voyager]

@Jayrot

Don’t think there’s any particular joke under the surface there. Here’s the relevant section on Wikipedia

Since two characters very much resembling Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser show up in the beginning of The Colour of Magic he must have been at least thinking of it.

[xnylder]

Wow, and I thought it was just a pun on anthropomorphic.

[DrFidelius]

@Voyager

Since two characters very much resembling Fafhrd and the Grey Mouser show up in the beginning of The Colour of Magic he must have been at least thinking of it.

It had always seemed to me that if Pterry has any idea of making a series out of the story at the start, the central characters would not have been Rincewind and Twoflower, but Bravd and Weasel. I could imagine the two wandering swordsmen (great fantasy cliches that they are) arriving at different places to pick up the pieces and hear a story parodying some famous fantasy tale.

BUT, having the central characters being the instigating agents of chaos in the fantasy world worked out much better than just being observers. And, of course, the Diskworld grew and transmogrified itself into a much greater story cycles than just a series of in-jokes for geeks.

[Colibri]

Many people know what an ankh is; fewer probably know that a morepork is a New Zealand owl.

[silenus]

Both of which feature prominantly on the City Seal.

[Peter_Morris]

Ankh-Morepork, a city made up of two smaller cities, Ankh and Morepork seperated by a river.

Based partly on Budapest, a city made up of two smaller cities, Buda and Pest, seperated by a river.

All kinds of jokes you may have missed explained here: The Annotated Pratchett File v9.0 - Index

[carlb]

Thanks, everyone. Looks like the answer is, “No, no specific joke there.” It still bugs me, but I guess I’ll just have to let it go.

On the other hand, maybe some day my mind will connect that last dot, and I’ll discover a joke even Mr. Pratchett didn’t realize he’d made.

[Voyager]

@DrFidelius

It had always seemed to me that if Pterry has any idea of making a series out of the story at the start, the central characters would not have been Rincewind and Twoflower, but Bravd and Weasel. I could imagine the two wandering swordsmen (great fantasy cliches that they are) arriving at different places to pick up the pieces and hear a story parodying some famous fantasy tale.

I certainly agree. Anyhow, parodies of fantasy heroes (in particular Conan) have been done. Poul Anderson did one, called The Barbarian and John Jakes did a novel-length Conan parody. And I’m not forgetting pTerry’s Conan version either.

[Zeldar]

If it matters, the only synapse tingled in my head is Angkor Wat and that was after saying Ankh-Morpork aloud several times. It also comes from not having many sci-fi/fantasy associations to draw from.