Published on 12, July, 2020
These are not all original t o me but here goes ....
In the supermarket they sell bottles of liquid labelled "Still water". At what stage will it cease to still be water.
And talking of water, one brand says it has percolated and been filtered through rock for thousands oof years before being bottled. Good job they bottled it when they did as its best before date is only in a months time.
What does an occasional table become when it is not a table.
Who did the first person who bought a telephone want to ring?
Where did the first person who bought a car buy petrol from? Or who did the first filling station sell petrol to?
How many people died eating poisonous mushrooms and berries before they knew which ones were ok to eat?
There are many more, so what are other contributors favourites?
Sometimes phrases can be arranged in such a way as they are totally ambiguous, and can be construed (especially to an Aspie like me!) to mean the complete opposite of that intended.
I've heard people say things like "We can't have too many ...." which depending how it is interpreted could mean that "We don't want any more" or "We have an insatiable need".
Another example I noticed in the 'Terms and Conditions" of the Snowdon Mountain Railway (yes, I am one of those souls who does read such notices .. or is it that certain things stand out?) which says "The train will only depart with fewer than nine passengers at the discretion of the guard'. I immediately interpreted this as saying that if the train had more than nine passengers the guard could insist it did not depart, and thought it was a strange thing to say. It took a long time to realise that it really meant that the train would not depart with fewer than nine passengers if the guard did not feel it was in the interests of the company.
One of the pleasures of being autistic!
Mm. Bad syntax. Misplaced modifiers, etc.
You hear it an awful lot on the Today programme on Radio 4 - and on the Radio 4 news in general. Things like:
'The trial began today of the six men accused of taking part in the Kent bullion raid in Maidstone County Court.'
Strange place to keep bullion...