A New Year’s resolution is something that goes in one year and out the other. In fact, 80 percent of all New Year’s resolutions are broken by the end of February. May all your troubles last as long as your New Year’s resolutions. When they drop the ball in Times Square, it’s a nice reminder […]
How do cats greet each other at Christmas? “Have a furry meowy Christmas!” How do dogs greet each other at Christmas? “Yappy howl-a-days!” How do sheep greet each other at Christmas? “Season’s Bleetings and Fleece Navidad! Fleece on earth, good wool to men!” Punning is a rewording experience, especially around Christmas time. That’s the time […]
“Have Smart Phones Destroyed a Generation?” asks SDSU psychologist Jean M. Twenge in a recent Atlantic magazine article. She concludes that, in many ways, they have, as evidenced by increases in isolation, depression and diminished social skills. Since the arrival of the Smart Phone in 2007, humankind has experienced a growing paradox. While the […]
Why do so many weddings take place in June? Go back centuries, and you will find that the Romans traditionally married in June to honor Juno, the goddess of marriage, and ensure an auspicious union. I grew up reading in DC Comics about the valiant Amazonian warrior-princess-demigoddess-superheroine equipped with her Lasso of Truth and indestructible […]
The dictionary defines a gaffe as a blunder; faux pas.” Faux pas derives from the French “false step,” and gaffe may descend from the French gaff, “a barbed spear used in landing a large fish.” Local blooper snoopers with the gift of gaffe have speared numerous humorous specimens, hauled them aboard and shipped them, […]
Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ on the third day after his crucifixion. Easter was the earliest feast day decreed by the ancient Christian Church. Many Christians consider Easter to be the most important holiday in their faith. Like its Jewish predecessor, Passover, Easter is a movable feast, based on the lunar calendar […]
John Dennis, an early 18th century playwright and critic, once sneered, “A pun is the lowest form of wit.” Three centuries later, Henry Erskine riposted, “If a pun is the lowest form of wit, it is, therefore, the foundation of all wit!” Oscar Levant added the tagline “A pun is the lowest form of […]
Legend has it that Saint Patrick, the patron saint of Ireland, drove the snakes out of Ireland, although in fact snakes were never there. The story may be referring to Patrick’s expelling the Druidic religion and bringing Christianity to the Emerald Isle. Patrick died on March 17, A.D. 460, and the Catholic Church made […]
In our exuberant country we celebrate just about everything, so it may come as no surprise to you that tomorrow, March 4, pun-up girls and pun gents observe National Pun Day. According to a YouGov.com survey of 8,314 U.S, adults, most Americans appreciate and even adore puns. The study shows that 38 percent of […]
Falling on October 31, Halloween is the year’s spookiest holiday. On that day we carve faces in pumpkins, dress in horrible costumes and go out trick or treating. The traditions associated with modern-day Halloween find their roots in ancient Ireland, in the fifth century B.C. October 31 signaled the end of the Celtic year and […]