So I officially left my job, and with it a tootsie roll that I kept on my desk for four years. A colleague of mine was giving them out for Christmas and as soon as he handed me one I laughed heartily and placed it lovingly next to my monitor, a reminder of colloquial communication. In all my years though, I never got so much as a smirk from anyone who saw it.Come on!!
With
4a: used as a function word to indicate combination, accompaniment, presence, or addition. heat milk with honey. Helping people with Mental Retardation
6a: used as a function word to indicate the means, cause, agent, or instrumentality. hit him with a rock. Helping people with Mental Retardation
The problem here is that (normal) people have been programed to understand the word "with" in context because they perceive language as a device to communicate. It doesn't occur to native speakers to place the words in the wrong contexts, since they're so accustomed to placing them in the proper context, to find new and humorous interpretations.
ReplyDeleteGenerally mentally healthy people don't believe that it is possible to help people by inducing mental retardation in them, so they fail to see that contextual possibility.
Although it's possible they've already been helped, which would explain an awful lot.
It may be time to change the definition of mentally retarded to "IQ less than 120". I don't have an objective basis for such a move, but it just feels right.
(P.S. Can you bring me back a British comedy or two?)