You Bet Your Sweet Bippy (Rebroadcast) - 26 December 2011

<p>SUMMARY<br /><br />Why do some puns strike us as clever, while others are plain old groaners? Martha and Grant puzzle over this question. Also, the difference between baggage and luggage, a royal word quiz, the "egg" in egg on, what to call someone who doesn't eat fish or seafood, Hawaiian riddles, and why we say "You bet your sweet bippy!" <br /><br />FULL DETAILS<br /><br />When President Barack Obama had the Oval Office redecorated in soft browns and beige, The New York Times headline read: “The Audacity of Taupe.” The hosts discuss how puns work, and what makes them clever. Martha recommends John Pollack's new book, The Pun Also Rises: How the Humble Pun Revolutionized Language, Changed History, and Made Wordplay More than Some Antics.<br /><br />http://www.thepunalsorises.com/<br /><br />What do you call someone who doesn’t eat fish? A caller wants to know, but not because of dietary requirements. He's a string bass player who plays in an ensemble that’s tired of being asked to perform Schubert’s famous composition, the Trout Quintet.<br /><br />http://www.classicalnotes.net/classics/trout.html<br /><br />Martha and Grant tells him he has several options. Among them: non-pescatarian, anti-marinovore, anichthyophagist--and, of course, non-seafood eater.<br /><br />What’s the difference between baggage and luggage? After all, it’s not as if anyone confesses to having emotional luggage. The hosts conclude that usually the word “luggage” specifies the container, while “baggage” is more likely to refer to that which is lugged inside the container. <br /><br />Martha shares a quotation from Joseph Addison, no fan of puns: “If we must lash one another, let it be with the manly strokes of wit and satire: for I am of the old philosopher’s opinion, that, if I must suffer from one or the other, I would rather it should be from the paw of a lion than from the hoof of an ass.”<br /><br />Quiz Guy Greg Pliska has a royal quiz in honor of the wedding of Kate Middleton and Prince William. He celebrates the wedding of the