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Thanks to the Bananagrammer blog for recommending our Wye's Dictionary of Improbable Words to those "interested in obscure words on the extremes of human language." We love how Bananagrammer says that our collections of all-consonant and all-vowel words "spin off into highly arcane references (at times approaching Borges-level bizarreness)." |
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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"Writers don’t have to be brilliant conversationalists; it’s not their job to be smart except, of course, when they write. Hazlitt, that most self-conscious of writers, remarked that he did not see why an author 'is bound to talk, any more than he is bound to dance, or ride, or fence better than other people. Reading, study, silence, thought are a bad introduction to loquacity.'" —Arthur Krystal, " When Writers Speak," Sunday Book Review |
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
William Keckler explains: This applies to June bugs, Japanese beetles, ladybugs and the like as
well. Hierophants seem divided on whether or not this applies to the
lightning bug. Better safe than sorry, I always say. Curses resulting
from Scarab-Slighting can have quite gruesome sequelae.
An ancient Egyptian blessing should also be spoken. A good one would be...
"I bless your Carapace; I bless your Undercarriage; I bless your Antennae*; I bless your Many Legs; I bless your Tympanic Membrane; I bless you and Pray you will take Good Report of me to the Underworld." (Here you may ask for something which resembles the beetle in form. Hint: Blu-ray players have a carapace too!)
*I am substituting "Antennae" for the sake of North American probability. If it is indeed a genuine Egyptian scarab, you can substitute "Pincers."
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| * A manual for typographers published in 1917 acknowledged that there are many beautiful forms of the ampersand, yet it forbade their use in "ordinary book work." Extraordinary books are another matter. Our lavishly illustrated Ampersand opus explores the history and pictography of the most common coordinating conjunction. |
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| * Ellipses don’t merely omit superfluous words or mark pauses. Far from
it! In an astonishing number of cases, the ellipses illustrate a
narrative, inviting the reader to “connect the dots.” Learn more about Annotated Ellipses at Amazon.com. |
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Osiris Melnick responds:
Haha! Love this one. Now I want to check the MJ quietus date. I'm guessing that was the genesis, but I'm terrible on chronology. I trust God to keep the years in the right places, because God knows I lay them all over the place.
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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| Puzzles and Games :: Which is Funnier |
(permalink) |
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 Which name is funnier: Shirley or Mary?
Clue: This is according to comedy t.v. writer Jerry Rannow
Answer: Shirley (The answer is in black text on the black background. Highlight it to view.)
Citation: Jerry Rannow, Writing Television Comedy (2004), p. 87.
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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| * Ellipses don’t merely omit superfluous words or mark pauses. Far from
it! In an astonishing number of cases, the ellipses illustrate a
narrative, inviting the reader to “connect the dots.” Learn more about Annotated Ellipses at Amazon.com. |
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
Inspired by Hilary Caws-Elwitt, who also once quipped, "The Proust series is occasionally funny. But I wouldn't call it a laugh a sentence, or a laugh a page . . . or even a laugh a paragraph."
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Printed collections of Forgotten Wisdom diagrams are available: Volume I from Mindful Greetings and Volumes II, III and IV from Amazon. Selected posters are also available via Zazzle. |
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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From Strangers with Candy: Jerri Blank: I'm having a lot of trouble cornering my dreams. All I know is that when you quit school that day, the things you said really inspired me. Geoffrey Jellineck: Hey, Jerri, do you remember what I said? Please? Jerri Blank: Of course. You said "Something something, something."
Geoffrey Jellineck: That loses a little "umph" the second time around. |
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| * Ellipses don’t merely omit superfluous words or mark pauses. Far from
it! In an astonishing number of cases, the ellipses illustrate a
narrative, inviting the reader to “connect the dots.” Learn more about Annotated Ellipses at Amazon.com. |
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
Inspired by Gary Barwin, who writes:
I know. I found that you can complain tilde cows come home, but cedilla don't care.
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Printed collections of Forgotten Wisdom diagrams are available: Volume I from Mindful Greetings and Volumes II, III and IV from Amazon. Selected posters are also available via Zazzle. |
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
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Printed collections of Forgotten Wisdom diagrams are available: Volume I from Mindful Greetings and Volumes II, III and IV from Amazon. Selected posters are also available via Zazzle. |
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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| * Ellipses don’t merely omit superfluous words or mark pauses. Far from
it! In an astonishing number of cases, the ellipses illustrate a
narrative, inviting the reader to “connect the dots.” Learn more about Annotated Ellipses at Amazon.com. |
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| Puzzles and Games :: Which is Funnier |
(permalink) |
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Which half of the Bible is funnier: the Old Testament or the New Testament?
Clue: This is according to an expert on penal law
Answer: the Old Testament (The answer is in black text on the black background. Highlight it to view.)
Citation: Francis Lieber, A Popular Essay on Subjects of Penal Law (1838), p. 77.
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
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Printed collections of Forgotten Wisdom diagrams are available: Volume I from Mindful Greetings and Volumes II, III and IV from Amazon. Selected posters are also available via Zazzle. |
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
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Printed collections of Forgotten Wisdom diagrams are available: Volume I from Mindful Greetings and Volumes II, III and IV from Amazon. Selected posters are also available via Zazzle. |
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| * A manual for typographers published in 1917 acknowledged that there are many beautiful forms of the ampersand, yet it forbade their use in "ordinary book work." Extraordinary books are another matter. Our lavishly illustrated Ampersand opus explores the history and pictography of the most common coordinating conjunction. |
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
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Printed collections of Forgotten Wisdom diagrams are available: Volume I from Mindful Greetings and Volumes II, III and IV from Amazon. Selected posters are also available via Zazzle. |
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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| * Ellipses don’t merely omit superfluous words or mark pauses. Far from
it! In an astonishing number of cases, the ellipses illustrate a
narrative, inviting the reader to “connect the dots.” Learn more about Annotated Ellipses at Amazon.com. |
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| Puzzles and Games :: Which is Funnier |
(permalink) |
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Which is funnier: a pratfall or a pie in the face?
Clue: This is according to a book on the medicine show phenomenon of the 19th century
Answer: A pie in the face. “Nothing was more hilarious than a pratfall, until Doc Kelley invented the pie-in-the-face bit.” (The answer is in black text on the black background. Highlight it to view.)
Citation: Ann Anderson, Snake Oil, Hustlers and Hambones: The American Medicine Show (2004), p. 124
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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Morddred writes:
Been there. Lived it. About a million times. Great series. Philosophical Dualities Cast Asunder a la Wittgenstein. The deepst problems are no problems at all. They are these flash cards!
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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| Someone Should Write a Book on ... |
(permalink) |
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"There ought to be a book. 'A Guide for the Occasional Parent' — how to pack seven years into two days." — Rene Kuhn, Cornelia, 1948, p. 97. |
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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| * Ellipses don’t merely omit superfluous words or mark pauses. Far from
it! In an astonishing number of cases, the ellipses illustrate a
narrative, inviting the reader to “connect the dots.” Learn more about Annotated Ellipses at Amazon.com. |
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| Puzzles and Games :: Which is Funnier |
(permalink) |
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Which is funnier: Freudians or Freud?
Clue: This is according to The Hudson Review
Answer: Freudians (The answer is in black text on the black background. Highlight it to view.)
Citation: Frederick Morgan, The Hudson Review, Vol. 56, No. 1 (1948), p. 279
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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| * Ellipses don’t merely omit superfluous words or mark pauses. Far from
it! In an astonishing number of cases, the ellipses illustrate a
narrative, inviting the reader to “connect the dots.” Learn more about Annotated Ellipses at Amazon.com. |
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From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
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Printed collections of Forgotten Wisdom diagrams are available: Volume I from Mindful Greetings and Volumes II, III and IV from Amazon. Selected posters are also available via Zazzle. |
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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| Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? |
(permalink) |
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From humorist, playwright, neologist, palindromist, parodist, and wit Jonathan Caws-Elwitt: "My nonprofit had a brainstorming session about how to raise money, and all I got was this stupid T-shirt." |
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| Puzzles and Games :: Which is Funnier |
(permalink) |
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Which is funnier: humor or wit?
Clue: This is according to the satirical journal Punch.
Answer: Humor. “Wit is wittier than humour, while humour is more humorous than wit.” (The answer is in black text on the black background. Highlight it to view.)
Citation: Francis Cowley Burnand, Punch, vol. 207 (1944), p. 68.
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| A printed collection of A Fine Line Between... is now available from Amazon.com. |
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Original Content Copyright © 2025 by Craig Conley. All rights reserved.
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