Double entendre

Question

There is an double entendre in the linked picture:I couldn't get the point. Please help me. Thanks.

Emsr2d2 · Accepted Answer

Once I got the link to work, and then managed to decipher the very small writing, I finally found:

Man: My sweet honey, I hope you are to be let with the lodging.
Woman: No, Sir, I am to be let alone.

The man's line means that he is going to rent a room at the house, and that he hopes that the young lady comes as part of the package (ie she will be available to him). To let = to rent. Lodging = accommodation.

The woman's line means that she wants to be "left alone". This used to be said as "let alone".

So the pun is on the word "let" - he wants her to be "let" (rented) to him with his room. She wants to be "let" (left) alone.

It's not terribly funny but it looks quite old and was probably quite risqué at the time.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

This line was part of a song by Benny Hill, the British comedian. It includes other examples of double meanings.

Have a look here at the lyrics of the song.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepys'_Diary_(song )

Clive

Jackson6612 · Answer

Sorry, I had to reply to my own post to include further questions because the edit time for the orginal posting had expired.

Q1:
"I'm the kinda girl who works for Paramount by day, and Fox all night".
I think 'Fox' indirectly means 'intoxicate'

Q2:
"I feel like a million tonight—but only one at a time".
It should cover two different shades of meaning but I couldn't get any.

Please help me with the queries above.

Jackson6612 · Answer

Thanks a lot for the explanation.

emsr2d2The woman's line means that she wants to be "left alone". This used to be said as "let alone".

You meant to say in the past 'left alone' was used to be said as 'let alone'?

emsr2d2Woman: No, Sir, I am to be let alone.

Don't you think that the woman is also being little naughty. I think her line could lend itself to mean something opposite. As Clive mentioned the song above; here is some more context, 'She said, "I'm not to be let with the house, I'm to be let alone!'. Perhaps she was saying she was to be rent separately, not as part of the package. What do you say?

Once again, thanks.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

I had to reply to my own post to include further questions because the edit time for the orginal posting had expired.

Q1:

"I'm the kinda girl who works for Paramount by day, and Fox all night".

I think 'Fox' indirectly means 'intoxicate'

No.

First meaning - Fox is the name of a movie studio (Twentieth Century Fox).
Seond meaning - The word 'Fox' sounds a bit like the verb for having ***.

ie I'm the kind of girl who . .. ***** all night.

Q2:

"I feel like a million tonight—but only one at a time".

It should cover two different shades of meaning but I couldn't get any.

First - I feel like (I'm worth ) a million (dollars) tonight . .

Second - I feel like (ie want) a million (sexual partners) tonight . . .

Clive

Jackson6612 · Answer

Q1:

Clive"I feel like a million tonight—but only one at a time".
It should cover two different shades of meaning but I couldn't get any.
First - I feel like (I'm worth ) a million (dollars) tonight . .
Second - I feel like (ie want) a million (sexual partners) tonight . . .

What would 'but only one at a time' mean when used with the bold? The meaning is obvious when the sentence is used in Second sense.

Q2:
"The woman's line means that she wants to be "left alone". This used to be said as "let alone"."

Does this mean that in the past 'let alone' was used in place of 'left alone'?

Q3:
"Woman: No, Sir, I am to be let alone."

Don't you think that the woman is also being little naughty. I think her line could lend itself to mean something opposite. As you mentioned the song above; here is some more context, 'She said, "I'm not to be let with the house, I'm to be let alone!'. Perhaps she was saying she was to be rent separately, not as part of the package. What do you say?

Please help me with the questions above.

Clive · Answer

Hi,

Q1:

Clive

“"I feel like a million tonight—but only one at a time".
It should cover two different shades of meaning but I couldn't get any.
First - I feel like (I'm worth ) a million (dollars) tonight . .
Second - I feel like (ie want) a million (sexual partners) tonight . . . ”

What would 'but only one at a time' mean when used with the bold? The meaning is obvious when the sentence is used in Second sense.

I think the double meaning realy only lies in 'I feel like a million tonight'.

Q2:

"The woman's line means that she wants to be "left alone". This used to be said as "let alone"."

Does this mean that in the past 'let alone' was used in place of 'left alone'? Yes, and not just in the past. It's still part of my lexicon.

Q3:

"Woman: No, Sir, I am to be let alone."

Don't you think that the woman is also being little naughty. That's what a double meaning is all about.

I think her line could lend itself to mean something opposite. As you mentioned the song above; here is some more context, 'She said, "I'm not to be let with the house, I'm to be let alone!'. Perhaps she was saying she was to be rent separately, not as part of the package. What do you say?

Please help me with the questions above.

Clive

Double entendre

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