What is the meaning of "in more senses than one" ?

Question

what is the meaning of  "in more senses than one" ?

Avangi · Accepted Answer

Anonymousin more senses than one

Sometimes it's used as a joke, such as a pun.

Sometimes it's used as an oblique insult.

Generally, it's used following a statement which is delivered unambiguously - as a sort of unexpected punch line.

The listener then says to himself, "Let's see. How else can that statement be taken??
Hmmm. Oh yes! I get it! That's really funny!"

If it's an insult, of course the reaction is different.

I know I'm supposed to come up with some good examples. Maybe later!

Ouch! Ten million Google hits, but they're all cute headlines. Not punchlines.

I give up! Try this:

. Don't starve yourself. Cutting too many calories can backfire in more ways than one. Try to subsist on morsels and your metabolism will slow so much that you'll not only stop losing weight, but you'll be lucky if you can peel yourself off the couch.

There's usually the obvious way, and then there's the other way. But these two ways seem about equal:
(1) Your metabolism shuts down, so you don't burn calories (no weight loss)
(2) You have no energy so you can't exercise (no weight loss)
Two backfires! (two senses of "to backfire.")

(This is not what I was looking for! It's not really two senses of the word.)

Here's something from 1883:
during the last few months the Hallelujah Band has been awakening (in more senses than one) both professing saints and acknowledged sinners.
The purpose of this band is to awaken these people spiritually, but we understand (as a joke) that it wakes them up from their sleep.

Care for some home brew?
Barley is tough in more senses than one. Not only can it stand up to the weather, it is also tough to chew; too hard to eat, for example, in its raw state.

What is the meaning of "in more senses than one" ?

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