Thursday, June 15

Gary Glitter Appealing

Actually it's me that's appealing. Appealing for assistance. What's the technical term for that headline. When it says one thing but means another - can be interpreted two ways?
Actually, I guess that can only be interpreted one way, because although Gary Glitter is appealing he surely hasn't appealed to anyone in their right mind for a very long time indeed.

He was always old and faintly creepy, even when he had a gang and all that.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Double ententre? (Pardon my French)

Anonymous said...

ambiguous?

(sorry, feeling slightly ambivalent) (and typing with my right hand, which might make me ambidextrous) (think I'm being too ambitious, as per usual)

the Beep said...

I'm delighted to say that Glitter lost his appeal.
As if he had any to lose.

Anonymous said...

I don't know. But you're so right about the lack of appeal :)


DCI, as long as you're not amphibious.

the Beep said...

Dave: I thnk a double entendre is really when the second 'interpretation' is slightly risque. End of the pier jocularity. Ooer missus.

DCI. I agree it is ambiguous, but I feel sure there is a grammatical term for such. I might have to check my Truss (there's a double entendre for you), my Lynn Truss.

MIG: DCI will so become during the summer, no doubt. Cornish beaches I believe?

Anonymous said...

I thought the second interpretation was risque. That's why I said it.

Anonymous said...

Well, strictly speaking, double entendre just means 'double meaning'. It's only us Brits that associate it with risqué innuendo.

the Beep said...

Ah Patroclus, how ice to see you here - the literal French interpretation. How loyal you are!
The Oxford English appends the risque meaning exclusively 'A double meaning; a word or phrase having a double sense, especially as used to convey an indelicate meaning'. As per this example: a girl walks into a bar and asks for a double entendre, so the barman gives her one.

Ca boom.

I feel sure there is a grammatical term for this, a la Zeugma. But it seems, thus far, to be a bit of a Cul de Sac, perhaps until the Grammer Puss sees it.

Anonymous said...

"Grammer Puss", Beep? I'll take that as a typo ;)

Anyway, I thought my ears were burning. There are two possible words that could fill this lexical gap, homonym or polyseme. In this case I would go with homonym, as the two meanings of "appeal" come from the same route.

Or you could, of course, just go with "pun".

the Beep said...

Crikey that was quick - all the way from Paris.
I knew you'd know it, and correct my spelling too, I'm in heaven....

Homonym - that's the word.

Lovely jubbly. Thanks GP.