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Usenet Posted 21 years ago
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Newspaper puns wanted
Hi all.
I hope some of you will help me out with this: I am a student of English in Denmark, and I have to write a short paper about a linguistic topic (the main purpose of the paper is to get the methodology right, not so much the content).
My idea is to do a comparison between the linguistic style of Danish and British newspaper headlines, more specifically the use of puns. The hypothesis is that the frequency of headline puns will be higher in british newspapers than in Danish.
The only problem is, I need some good examples of British headline puns.
What I am after is this (in descending order of importance):
1) Puns from one or more "serious" newspapers (i.e. not tabloids)
2) The source of the pun (newspaper, date and what the story is about).
3) Headlines that are relatively recent
4) Headlines from stories that are not too local
The reason for 3) and 4) is that I would prefer it if I could compare the headlines from identical stories in the British and Danish newspaper. I realise, though, that it may prove impossible, so any good pun will do!
Thanks in advance.
Mikkel
I hope some of you will help me out with this: I am a student of English in Denmark, and I have to write a short paper about a linguistic topic (the main purpose of the paper is to get the methodology right, not so much the content).
My idea is to do a comparison between the linguistic style of Danish and British newspaper headlines, more specifically the use of puns. The hypothesis is that the frequency of headline puns will be higher in british newspapers than in Danish.
The only problem is, I need some good examples of British headline puns.
What I am after is this (in descending order of importance):
1) Puns from one or more "serious" newspapers (i.e. not tabloids)
2) The source of the pun (newspaper, date and what the story is about).
3) Headlines that are relatively recent
4) Headlines from stories that are not too local
The reason for 3) and 4) is that I would prefer it if I could compare the headlines from identical stories in the British and Danish newspaper. I realise, though, that it may prove impossible, so any good pun will do!
Thanks in advance.
Mikkel
Top answer
[nq:1]Hi all. I hope some of you will help me out with this: I am a student of English in ... of puns.
- [nq:1]Hi all.
- I hope some of you will help me out with this: I am a student of English in ...
- of puns.
- [/nq] It's a good topic to study.
- I assume you are speaking of deliberate puns, not the accidental double-entendres one sees listed from time to time.
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26 Answers
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[nq:1]Hi all. I hope some of you will help me out with this: I am a student of English in ... of puns. The hypothesis is that the frequency of headline puns will be higher in british newspapers than in Danish.[/nq]
It's a good topic to study. I assume you are speaking of deliberate puns, not the accidental double-entendres one sees listed from time to time.
[nq:1]The only problem is, I nee
It's a good topic to study. I assume you are speaking of deliberate puns, not the accidental double-entendres one sees listed from time to time.
[nq:1]The only problem is, I nee
00
[nq:1]Hi all. I hope some of you will help me out with this: I am a student of English in ... of puns. The hypothesis is that the frequency of headline puns will be higher in british newspapers than in Danish.[/nq]
The most famous British newspaper headline was:
"Fog in the Channel: Continent cut off".
I don't know which newspaper it came from though. And not really a pun.
Mik
The most famous British newspaper headline was:
"Fog in the Channel: Continent cut off".
I don't know which newspaper it came from though. And not really a pun.
Mik
00
[nq:1]Hi all. I hope some of you will help me out with this: I am a student of English in ... what the story is about). 3) Headlines that are relatively recent 4) Headlines from stories that are not too local[/nq]
One that would qualify is from today's Guardian (11 May, 2005, page 13, in the "International" news section):
"French EU debate is a grave matter".
The report was that the fo
One that would qualify is from today's Guardian (11 May, 2005, page 13, in the "International" news section):
"French EU debate is a grave matter".
The report was that the fo
00
[nq:1]The most famous British newspaper headline was: "Fog in the Channel: Continent cut off". I don't know which newspaper it came from though. [/nq]
I posted about this at the beginning of last year; it's thought to be a pockriffle. Can anyone seriously doubt that?
Matti
I posted about this at the beginning of last year; it's thought to be a pockriffle. Can anyone seriously doubt that?
Matti
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[nq:2]Hi all. I hope some of you will help me ... puns will be higher in british newspapers than in Danish.[/nq]
[nq:1]The most famous British newspaper headline was: "Fog in the Channel: Continent cut off".[/nq]
What about "General flies back to front"?
David
==
replace usenet with the
[nq:1]The most famous British newspaper headline was: "Fog in the Channel: Continent cut off".[/nq]
What about "General flies back to front"?
David
==
replace usenet with the
00
[nq:1]It's a good topic to study. I assume you are speaking of deliberate puns, not the accidental double-entendres one sees listed from time to time.[/nq]
Yes, I am talking about the deliberate puns.
[nq:1]What happens if you try browsing through the papers themselves at their websites are you able to recognize when a headline contains a pun?[/nq]
Yes and no. I did take a look at The
Yes, I am talking about the deliberate puns.
[nq:1]What happens if you try browsing through the papers themselves at their websites are you able to recognize when a headline contains a pun?[/nq]
Yes and no. I did take a look at The
00
You are in Dane-ger of producing a statistical bias in your results if you use this method of sampling. You are looking through the British and US newspapers for instances of puns. When you find such a pun in one of our newspapers, you then look at a Danish newspaper to see whether that too has a pun.
With this method of analysis the very best the Danish newspaper can do, under absolutely idea
With this method of analysis the very best the Danish newspaper can do, under absolutely idea
00
[nq:2]The more important and international the story, the less likely the headline will contain a pun.[/nq]
[nq:1]That was my impression as well, but I still think the chance (or should I say 'risk'?) of puns is ... (Denmark's largest newspaper, not a tabloid) with the headline "EU: Feta is Greek", so that's one down for my paper.[/nq]
Did the French papers call it a "feta ccompli"?
[nq:1]That was my impression as well, but I still think the chance (or should I say 'risk'?) of puns is ... (Denmark's largest newspaper, not a tabloid) with the headline "EU: Feta is Greek", so that's one down for my paper.[/nq]
Did the French papers call it a "feta ccompli"?
00
[nq:2]Are the Danes as lavish with puns in minor headlines as the US &UK press have gotten to be?[/nq]
[nq:1]I wouldn't say *as* lavish, but, yes, you may see an occasional punin the minor news stories from around the world. But in general theyare pretty serious, even the tabloid papers.[/nq]
Two problems. First, I have an impression that the English language is easier to make puns in than
[nq:1]I wouldn't say *as* lavish, but, yes, you may see an occasional punin the minor news stories from around the world. But in general theyare pretty serious, even the tabloid papers.[/nq]
Two problems. First, I have an impression that the English language is easier to make puns in than
00
[nq:1]In other words, your sampling technique does not give the Danish newspaper a fair chance. A biased statistical sampling technique.[/nq]
You are right, of course. Point taken, I will have to reconsider my method.
I think I should somehow calculate a "pun ratio" for British newspapers compared to Danish (I will have to stick to one of each, I think). So, if out of 100 headlines, f
You are right, of course. Point taken, I will have to reconsider my method.
I think I should somehow calculate a "pun ratio" for British newspapers compared to Danish (I will have to stick to one of each, I think). So, if out of 100 headlines, f
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