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Revdolphin's Weekly Lingot Giveaway Challenge #2 - Puns
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This week's challenge: Write a pun in another language (include the English translation along with your entry). Points will be awarded based on originality and groanworthiness (bonus points if it's a play on words in English too).
Everybody who enters will get 1 lingot just for taking the challenge. The top three responses will receive an additional 10, 5, and 3 lingots respectively. Winners will be selected on a random weekday next week based on entries received by Sunday night. Last week's winning tongue twisters can be seen here: http://www.duolingo.com/comment/1502787
THE COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED. THIS WEEK'S WINNERS ARE:
10 Lingot Winners:
- English Forum: AyePete
- Spanish Forum: AmigoAndres
5 Lingot Winners:
- English Forum: JC70
- Spanish Forum: susegroj
3 Lingot Winners:
- English Forum: eldelecarlota
- Spanish Forum: eddy.elbest
The new challenge is here: http://www.duolingo.com/comment/1622825
17 Comments
Soudain, le vendeur d'oignons court vers la porte. Il crie dramatiquement, "Il faut que j'aille."
English: Suddenly, the onion seller runs to the door. He shouts dramatically, "I must go."
The joke: 'ail' (garlic) and 'aille' are homophones. Groan.
I was just wondering how we know wind is there, though we cant actually see it... then it hit me so hard I was winded.
Je me demandais comment nous savons vent est là, mais nous ne pouvons pas réellement voyons alors il m'a frappé si fort que je suis essoufflé. ( No word for winded in French )
English: I was sneakily taking down a priceless frame from a wall of the art gallery, I thought i was getting away with it, I felt a tap on my shoulder and suddenly i was framed. ( No word for the second meaning of framed in Italian, This is my best translation )
Italian: Stavo prendendo di nascosto giù un telaio inestimabile da una parete della galleria d'arte, ho pensato che stavo andando via con lui, ho sentito un colpetto sulla spalla e improvvisamente mi è stato incastrato.
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Here's mine in Italian...
Ho seppellito i miei risparmi nel bosco per trovare un miglior tasso.
Being a pun, it can't be translated perfectly to English, but the two interpretations are:
I buried my savings in the woods to find a better interest rate.
I buried my savings in the woods to find a better badger.
(It turns out that "rate" and "badger" in Italian are both "tasso"!)
Corrections welcome as ever!
Rey: - María, ¡María!... La corona, ¡La corona!... ¿María o la corona?... pensándolo bien, yo no necesito una corona... si el resto de la dentadura está sana...
King - Mary, Mary!... the crown, the crown!--- the crown or Mary?... but thinking it properly... I don't need a crown... if the rest of the teeth are healthy...
X)
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Tu: Usted está "somatizando"... No es el cuerpo, es la mente, ¡la mente!
Yo: Si quiere que me lamente, me lamento... ¡Ay, ay, ay muchachos! Qué suerte que están acá! ¡Mi chica me abandonó!
English:
You: You are "somatizing". It's not the body, it's the mind. The mind!
I: If you want me to lament, I lament: Ay ay ay, guys! What luck is this! My girl has abandoned me!
Exaplanation: La mente = The mind, and Lamente = regret/lament. They are sound alike, hence the misunderstanding of the guy! ;-)
PS: I am doing this just for the pun of it! :)
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Congratulations! If you don't want the lingots you can pass them on to your favorite entry.
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Great! Gracias! Although many of the entries here were pretty punny! ;)
Edit: I WANT them! They're PRECIOUS!
I've already posted my pun, so I leave this just to get advantage of the discusison theme to show you a nice spanish example from "Les Luthiers" of how you can use the words of what you are saying to create a hum. Hope you like it!:
Relator: - para Mastroipero, cantar sílabas sin significado era un desperdicio poético. Él decía: - si el autor quiere embellecer su canto con un tarareo, que use las palabras del poema -, técnica que denominó "tarareo conceptual", patente en su canción "La Excursión de los Amigos", cuyo fragmento más importante dice: "ya pararon para comprar queso, ahora pararan para pan, pararan para pan".
The phrase "pararan para pan (they'll stop for bread)" sounds exactly as a common spanish humming, "pararan parapan", and in the context of the sketch this fragment belongs to, this pun sounds excellent and results very funny :)
The english translation would be:
Relator: - for Mastroipero, singing meaningless syllables was a poetic waste. He said - if the author wants to embellish his singing with humming, is better that he uses the words of the poem - a technique that he called "conceptual humming", evident in his song "The Friends Trip ", which most important fragment says "they have already stopped to buy cheese, now they'll stop for bread, they'll stop for bread. "
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Amo a mi amor, y mi amor me amó, pero no me llamó a Miami.
I love my love and my love loved me, but he didn't call me to Miami.
The joke: "me llamó" (he called me) sounds like "me amo" (I love), and "Miami" sounds like "mí a mí" (me to me). I called up a Spanish speaking relative and read this to him; he had a heck of a time dissecting it.
