Your sex: Not often enough
Your Gender: Male
Your age Old enough to remember when Kennedy was assassinated
Your occupation Software Developer
Your nationality 'Merican (with a capital A)


1. What is ambiguity? How do you understand this term?

When the language or choice of words makes the meaning unclear in a manner that the multiple meanings are in opposition.

2. Where does ambiguity appear most often:
f) in various documents (contracts, guarantee cards etc.)


3. For what purposes is it used most frequently?
a) accidentally; mistakes, mistranslations

4. Do you assess ambiguity as:
c) neutral – unimportant, trivial

5. Can you provide the name of any English TV / radio show, book, magazine etc. which is famous for using humorous ambiguity?

Monty Python's Flying Circus

6. Can you give an example of funny ambiguity?
Headline: Iraq head seeks arms

7. Do humorous ambiguities draw your attention?
a) Yes, very often

8. Do you think ambiguity is characteristic element of English sense of humour?
a) Yes, definitely

9. For each ambiguous sentence provide 2 different interpretations:

a) The turkey is ready to eat.

The turkey, as food, is ready for consumption vs. the turky, as an animal, is ready to masticate

b) Visiting relatives can be boring.

The act of visiting your relatives provides little excitment vs. Relatives who visit you are uninteresting

c) The thing that bothered Harry was crouching under the desk.

There is somehting, unrevealed, crouching under Harry's desk that is bothering him vs. Harry, while crouching under his desk, is uncomfortable

10. For each of the following ambiguous words, give 2 synonymous words that are not themselves synonymous:
f.ex. bank – financial institution vs. a river bank

a) plane airplane vs. plateu b) bark growl vs. tree
c) rock sway vs. stone d) line sripe vs. align



11. For each of the following sentences, decide:
a) whether the sentence contains any ambiguous words, and
b) whether the sentence itself is ambiguous:

A sole is a kind of fish. a) Yes b) No

Danny said that he liked me on Saturday. a) Yes b) No

Doctor had to decide on the bus. a) Yes b) Yes

She is sleeping. a) No b) No


Which sentence is funny and why? Danny said he liked me on Saturday because, although the ambiguity is obviously unintentional, it provides a comical idea

"I am certain there is too much certainty in the world" -Michael Crichton