Thursday, November 10

Posted by Laurel Garver on Thursday, November 10, 2011 18 comments
I am a sucker for grammar humor, so I just had to repost this hilarious list of jokes from McSweeney's.

Seven bar jokes involving grammar and punctuation
by Eric K. Auld

1. A comma splice walks into a bar, it has a drink and then leaves.

2. A dangling modifier walks into a bar. After finishing a drink, the bartender asks it to leave.

3. A question mark walks into a bar?

4. Two quotation marks “walk into” a bar.

5. A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to drink.

6. The bar was walked into by the passive voice.

7. Three intransitive verbs walk into a bar. They sit. They drink. They leave.


And if you're not sure when "also" is a better word choice than "too," check out this cautionary tale. (Helps if you know some rudimentary chemistry.)
















Source: Hermant Parkhe


What has tickled your funny bone recently?

18 comments:

  1. Funny. I take it H2O2 should not be consumed. :)

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  3. I love #6! Who doesn't love a good grammar joke?

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  4. I love this post. I'm taking a grammar class. Must pass it on to the teacher.

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  5. Ha! I read the above jokes on another site earlier today, but the comic is new to me. Thanks for the laughs!

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  6. Ah, he should've ordered dihydrogen monoxide instead!

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  7. great post ;-)
    i saw that cartoon on facebook yesterday and laughed out loud!

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  8. Who knew grammar could be humorous? :D I'll have that gin fizz now, thx.

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  9. Here's a question for you, Laurel. Another blogger just posted on the Oxford comma. I worked in news, and we never used it. Do you know if it is used in U.S. book publishing?

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  10. Elle: dihydorgen dioxide, usually known as hydrogen peroxide, is poisonous unless diluted a lot (like the stuff you get at the drug store to clean cuts). It's used as a bleach and apparently also as rocket propellant in less dilute forms. Zowie.

    Kittie: Glad to have brought a smile. Thanks for visiting.

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  11. JEM: It's such a great illustration, isn't it?

    Theresa: They are simultaneously funny and great illustrations of parts of speech and grammar.

    Shelley: A chemist friend of mine had shared it on her FB page. I saw a grammar component.

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  12. Jenn: Indeed. Homonyms can be hazardous to your health!

    Katie: Thanks. Always happy to prove that grammar CAN be fun. :-)

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  13. Tricia: I had fun looking for alliterative drink names to go with grammar. Bottoms up!

    Oh, gosh, the Oxford comma. Like you, I was trained using Associate Press style, which eschews the Oxford comma. Modern Language Association style (a thoroughly American academic research style guide), which I use for work now, also eliminates it. If I were to make a sweeping generalization, I'd say the Oxford comma is probably more common in the UK and Commonwealth countries. But honestly, I don't know what style guides the Big Six use.

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  14. Hahaha! Thanks for posting this--that comic made me laugh out loud. I'll have to share that with the science teachers around the corner from me at school.

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  15. Thanks for the expanded comment on the Oxford comma, Laurel. I'm going to stick with not using it until an editor buys my book and tells me otherwise. :D

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  16. Stephanie: It's been circulating around Facebook a while. I hope they enjoy it.

    Tricia: That's my thinking, too. The acquisitions side are not going to get hung up about such a minor thing, so do what comes naturally. You have a nation of newspapers to back you up.

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  17. omg... *shame* it took me forever to get that H2O2 one... I was like, did he poison it??? Huh?

    Those are so great--perfect for the classroom! And hey, thanks for the editing rec! You rule~ <3

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