I heard that Shakespeare used this method to keep his plays both pretentious and accessible: anything that was said in Big Fancy Words was also expressed in Little Peasant Words at some point.
Reminds me also of Airplane, when the stewardess levels with the passengers about the unconscious crew, the poisoned food, and the bad weather. And they're also out of coffee.
--Nick Bensema Mon, 07 Apr 2008 03:13:09 -0400
Tweak the phrasing slightly and yeah, it's funny. To me, anyway.
"I can't find a plumber on a weekend! THERE IS NO GOD."
--Cordelia Mon, 07 Apr 2008 08:28:18 -0400
Cordelia -
Yeah, I considered a few patterns of inversion, including ones a bit more declarative and histrionic-y like yours. Yours would definitely be funnier in person, and probably here too.
The other weird thought I had is how the Allen-ism of Sacred to Profane can be misread to elevate the importance of the profane; here Plumbers take on an almost divine (or demonic?) level of import. Similar with "It is impossible to travel faster than the speed of light, and certainly not desirable, as one's hat keeps blowing off"-- I mean who wears hats these days anyway?
--Kirk Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:56:25 -0400