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Joined: Apr 2000
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Carpal Tunnel
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>(sink gunboat) and hole cruiser..

that is, they put a hole in it but it hasn't sunk (yet).
-ron o.


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I recalled seeing a list of humorous headlines long ago and in my search came across this site:
<http://www.ccl.umist.ac.uk/teaching/material/headlines-ans.html>
One headline included in this collection also relates to the Brit/Argie conflict: BRITISH LEFT WAFFLES ON FALKLANDS


#112046 09/17/03 03:58 PM
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Carpal Tunnel
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Of course, that had to be an USn headline or it wouldn't have been ambiguous.


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Carpal Tunnel
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It's parallel to the verb sink:

Our lads sink gunboat and hole cruiser

Ah--headline English! Got it (finally), thanks!

Re: JH's headline--did they leave any syrup, too?



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I would like to go on record as saying that I think it's parbly a tad early to be picking the century's ---st anythang.


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Re:did they leave any syrup, too?

I've never heard of putting grenidine on waffles!


#112050 09/17/03 09:57 PM
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An interesting thing about the site which lists the headlines (a Brit site, by the way) is that it is used as a grammar teaching tool, explaining in grammatical terms why each of the headlines is subject to humorous interpretation. In the case of the British Waffles:

"BRITISH LEFT WAFFLES ON FALKLAND ISLANDS
Double category ambiguity (noun vs verb) for left and waffles. Of interest is that to an American reader, the sentence is not ambiguous, but bizarre, since American English does not have a verb waffle meaning 'prattle', so the only possible reading is the one where left is the verb."

(Not sure we'd get agreement on that statement, since I have heard the term "waffle", connoting vacillation, all my American adult life)



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