So the other day I was pottering around the house and the radio was on a news talk program, but I wasn’t really mentally tuned into it.
At one point they were discussing our new Chancellor, George Osborne. Except my non-listening ear heard his name as the nonsensical phrase “jaw jaw spawn” (this works with an English accent where we’re economical with our Rs). When I realised my error I smiled to myself and went about my business.
But now… two weeks on, every time his name gets mentioned, which is quite a lot, I immediately think “jaw jaw spawn ha ha”. And I can’t stop it. It’s starting to get really annoying. Any ideas how I can rid myself of this irritating mental tic?
Or have I now infected the Brits with this too… evil cackle.
Maybe you could replace it with Jar Jar Binks, though I can’t see how that would ease the pain.
I can easily sympathize with the wordplay thing though, and some of my most difficult to forget are efforts to be clever for the benefit of others. A prime example is/was “Suck It Silly” for the now-defunct “Circuit City” electronics store.
I have dozens of such things that only come to mind when the trigger of the real name or word comes up in conversation or on TV or whatever.
It’s a neat tic to have, in my opinion, and one to endear you to strangers.
Shit, now I’ve picked up another one. My coworker just said “Marble Arch” and I replied “Ma Blarch”. Like an old lady called Blarch. Thank goodness I will never have Circuit City to deal with.