CRAIG CONLEY (Prof. Oddfellow) is recognized by Encarta as “America’s most creative and diligent scholar of letters, words and punctuation.” He has been called a “language fanatic” by Page Six gossip columnist Cindy Adams, a “cult hero” by Publisher’s Weekly, a “monk for the modern age” by George Parker, and “a true Renaissance man of the modern era, diving headfirst into comprehensive, open-minded study of realms obscured or merely obscure” by Clint Marsh. An eccentric scholar, Conley’s ideas are often decades ahead of their time. He invented the concept of the “virtual pet” in 1980, fifteen years before the debut of the popular “Tamagotchi” in Japan. His virtual pet, actually a rare flower, still thrives and has reached an incomprehensible size. Conley’s website is OneLetterWords.com.
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A Turkish Delight of musings on languages, deflations of metaphysics, vauntings of arcana, and great visual humor.

Found 126 posts tagged ‘jonathan caws-elwitt’


Rhetorical Questions, Answered! – May 16, 2010 (permalink)

Q. And, after all, is not eating well what the culinary arts are all about?
A. Yes, it is.
Q. That was actually a rhetorical question. Aren't you supposed to be on break?

—humorist, playwright, neologist, palindromist, parodist, and wit Jonathan Caws-Elwitt
> read more from Rhetorical Questions, Answered! . . .
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Forgotten Wisdom – April 13, 2010 (permalink)

From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:

Inspired by and dedicated to literary rapscallion Jonathan Caws-Elwitt.
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.
> read more from Forgotten Wisdom . . .
#jonathan caws-elwitt
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Forgotten Wisdom – February 13, 2010 (permalink)

From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:
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.
> read more from Forgotten Wisdom . . .
#vision #chopsticks #jonathan caws-elwitt
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The Right Word – December 15, 2009 (permalink)

Unnecessary Attribution
(of brief, public-domain utterances)

by literary rapscallion Jonathan Caws-Elwitt

In the word of the Immortal Bard, "No."

As the great Ralph Waldo Emerson remarked, a century and a half ago, "Yes."

"What the hell," as Ed Begley, Jr. says at the end of Back to the Future.

To paraphrase Mark Twain, "[That would] be [wonderful]!"

Prof. Oddfellow adds:

In the word of the great statesman and martyr, Abraham Lincoln, "Alas!"

As the legendary Mae West once exclaimed, "Funny!"

In the word of the great Persian poet-astronomer, Omar Khayyam, "Who?"

To quote the eminent Frenchman, Rousseau, "Indeed!"

In the word of the great American slavery abolitionist, Frederick Douglas, "Never."

As the celebrated Dr. Johnson once asked, "Why?"

In the word of the great Italian poet-philosopher Giacomo Leopardi, "Oh!"

Gary Barwin adds:

As God said, ". . ."
> read more from The Right Word . . .
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Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? – July 3, 2009 (permalink)

From the gem-encrusted quip drawer of Jonathan Caws-Elwitt:

Q. Why isn't that diminutive pastry chef still employed at the corner bakery?

A. Because of the high turnover.
> read more from Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? . . .
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Forgotten Wisdom – June 26, 2009 (permalink)

From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:

Inspired by literary scalawag Jonathan Caws-Elwitt.
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.
> read more from Forgotten Wisdom . . .
#jonathan caws-elwitt
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Forgotten Wisdom – March 30, 2009 (permalink)

From Prof. Oddfellow's sketchbook:

A collaboration with humorist and playwright Jonathan Caws-Elwitt.

See Omegaword Jeff's whimsical take on the whole thing.
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.
> read more from Forgotten Wisdom . . .
#jonathan caws-elwitt
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Go Out in a Blaze of Glory – January 9, 2009 (permalink)

From the mind of literary scalawag Jonathan Caws-Elwitt and the handiwork of our resident programmer Mike comes a wacky birthday message generator in the style of a cryptic tax form.  Print one out for the next birthday on your calendar (especially if it's your own!)
> read more from Go Out in a Blaze of Glory . . .
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Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? – November 20, 2008 (permalink)

Q. What does a Hungarian scientist say upon making a discovery?

A. "Paprika!"

Jonathan Caws-Elwitt
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Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? – November 17, 2008 (permalink)


Q. What did the carpenter say when invited into the cabinet makers' union?

A. Thanks, but I'm not really a joiner.

Jonathan Caws-Elwitt
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The Right Word – October 19, 2008 (permalink)

"When life hands you lemons ... say, 'Excuse me.  I asked for limes.'"
Jonathan Caws-Elwitt
> read more from The Right Word . . .
#lemons #limes #jonathan caws-elwitt
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Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? – October 15, 2008 (permalink)

Jonathan Caws-Elwitt shares this first-rate bit of whimsy:

Wikipedia: "The Dead Sea is a salt lake between Israel and the West Bank to the west, and Jordan to the east.  It is 420 metres (1,378 ft) below sea level ..."

JC-E: Now, that's what I call low sodium!
> read more from Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? . . .
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I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought – October 8, 2008 (permalink)

Literary rapscallion Jonathan Caws-Elwitt wonders whether one can "like it and lump it":

Merriam-Webster tells me that the transitive verb lump can mean "to group indiscriminately," or "to move noisily and clumsily." Now, the imperative phrase lump it, of course, is usually heard as part of "like it or lump it." But my problem is that I'm not sure how to lump it, if called upon. Am I supposed to group things indiscriminately, if I don't like whatever "it" is? Or move something noisily and clumsily? (Chances are, I'm already doing that, without being asked.)

And why all this mutual exclusivity? Cannot one like it and lump it?


Humorist Jonathan Caws-Elwitt's plays, stories, essays, letters, parodies, wordplay, witticisms and miscellaneous tomfoolery can be found at Monkeys 1, Typewriters 0. Here you'll encounter frivolous, urbane writings about symbolic yams, pigs in bikinis, donut costumes, vacationing pikas, nonexistent movies, cross-continental peppermills, and other compelling subjects.

> read more from I Found a Penny Today, So Here's a Thought . . .
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Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? – July 16, 2008 (permalink)


Here's one of our favorite bits from As Long As It's in the Script: A Sex Farce Within a Sex Farce by Jonathan Caws-Elwitt:

When she was only nine years old, [Helen] wrote and directed a neighborhood musical, casting herself in the starring role.  She did makeup, costumes . . . the whole bit.  Then she made herself Executive Producer and cut the budget.
> read more from Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? . . .
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Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? – July 2, 2008 (permalink)

From literary humorist Jonathan Caws-Elwitt:

"The needle and thread made eye contact."

> read more from Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? . . .
#thread #needle #jonathan caws-elwitt
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Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? – May 8, 2008 (permalink)


Photo source.

From the notebooks of humorist Jonathan Caws-Elwitt:

Thank you for calling Gratitech.

If you are calling to be thanked for calling, please press 1.

If you are calling to thank us for answering, please press 2.

If you would like to be thanked for pressing 2, please press 3.

If you are calling to say "you're welcome", please hold, and a representative will be with you as soon as possible.


(Literary humorist Jonathan Caws-Elwitt’s plays, stories, essays, letters, parodies, wordplay, witticisms and miscellaneous tomfoolery can be found at Monkeys 1, Typewriters 0.  Here you’ll encounter frivolous, urbane writings about symbolic yams, pigs in bikinis, donut costumes, vacationing pikas, nonexistent movies, cross-continental peppermills, and other compelling subjects.)

> read more from Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? . . .
#jonathan caws-elwitt
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Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? – April 24, 2008 (permalink)

From the quipboard of Jonathan Caws-Elwitt:

Have you heard the latest from Fashion Avenue?  A designer is putting out a line of stylish ensembles for philosophers, known as Cartesian Coordinates.  "We were under pressure from our stockholders to rationalize our production process," explains the CEO.
> read more from Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? . . .
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The Right Word – April 6, 2008 (permalink)

Finally, the "I'm with Stupid" t-shirt of yesteryear has been given its digital-age incarnation, courtesy of literary rapscallion Jonathan Caws-Elwitt.

The new t-shirt is not to be confused with a book on the market called im with stupid(no apostrophe, no capitals). It's by the artist Jeremy Fish.



© J. Caws-Elwitt
> read more from The Right Word . . .
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Unicorns – February 16, 2008 (permalink)

The Unicorn of 4th Street.

Jonathan Caws-Elwitt writes:

"Guess it must be Spinoza's day off."

"You're thinking of Market Street."

"No," said Dylan, "I'm positive it was 4th Street."

> read more from Unicorns . . .
#unicorn #jonathan caws-elwitt
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Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? – January 2, 2008 (permalink)

From the mind and pen of Jonathan Caws-Elwitt:
> read more from Did You Hear the One I Just Made Up? . . .
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