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Discussion Groups / English Usage / November 2006Trying to remember... funny answer to "How old are you?"
A few years years ago, I was tickled by a mumble-year old's answer to the question: "How old are you?". But I've forgotten it. As I remember it, the respondee used a word that sounded vaguely like "twenty-three", but equally like "seventy-three" ...or somthing like that. Does that ring a bell with anyone? Can you suggest what it might have been? Thanks Jim D > A few years years ago, I was tickled by a mumble-year old's answer to > the question: "How old are you?". But I've forgotten it. I don't know this one, but I remember one about a reporter who wanted to know Cary Grant's age, so he sent him a telegram. (Yes, this dates from when there were telegrams. And Cary Grant, for that matter.) HOW OLD CARY GRANT? The reply, of course, was: OLD CARY GRANT FINE HOW YOU?  SignatureMark Brader "You can stop laughing now. Toronto Well, maybe you *can't*, but you *may*." msb@vex.net -- Rick Burger >> A few years years ago, I was tickled by a mumble-year old's answer >> to the question: "How old are you?". But I've forgotten it. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > OLD CARY GRANT FINE HOW YOU? The Wikipedia article on Grant calls this apocryphal, unfortunately: Visiting his agent Grant intercepted a telegram from a journalist writing a profile asking "How Old Cary Grant?" Grant sent a reply saying "Old Cary Grant fine, how you?". (Actually not true. But when asked about the telegram by an interviewer, Cary did say that he wished he had done that.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cary_Grant I first see it mentioned in _Time_, 7/27/1962, where it's described as having happened "a short time ago". SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |It is one thing to be mistaken; it is 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |quite another to be willfully Palo Alto, CA 94304 |ignorant | Cecil Adams kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ I (Mark Brader) wrote: > > I don't know this one, but I remember one about a reporter who > > wanted to know Cary Grant's age ... > The Wikipedia article on Grant calls this apocryphal... I said "one about", meaning that it was a *joke*. SignatureMark Brader, Toronto | The real trouble with this world of ours is... that msb@vex.net | it is nearly reasonable, but not quite. --Chesterton > I (Mark Brader) wrote: >> > I don't know this one, but I remember one about a reporter who [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > I said "one about", meaning that it was a *joke*. Sorry. I heard it as an anecdote, not a joke, and it's plausible enough to have happened that I had assumed that it had. SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |So when can we quit passing laws and 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |raising taxes? When can we say of Palo Alto, CA 94304 |our political system, "Stick a fork |in it, it's done?" kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com | P.J. O'Rourke (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ > > A few years years ago, I was tickled by a mumble-year old's answer to > > the question: "How old are you?". But I've forgotten it. [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > Toronto Well, maybe you *can't*, but you *may*." > msb@vex.net -- Rick Burger I saw Cary Grant on Rodeo Drive once. I didn't ask him how old he was. And now, he's dead, Jim. > A few years years ago, I was tickled by a mumble-year old's answer to > the question: "How old are you?". But I've forgotten it. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Does that ring a bell with anyone? Can you suggest what it might have > been? Not that one, but there's "Old enough" and "I was born in nineteen-hundred-and-frightened-to-death." SignatureMike. > Does that ring a bell with anyone? Can you suggest what it might have > been? Ultra corny, but FWIW: "How old are you?" "I'm so old, when I was born the Dead Sea wasn't even sick yet." The Daily Mirror in 1928 had this bit of reportage, per OED2: "How old are you, Bobbie?' "I'm just at the awkward age." "What's the awkward age?" "Too old to cry and not old enough to swear." What's an "old goat?" George Thompson at ADS found an answer from way back: "The lady informed [him] that . . . she was under the protection of persons . . . who were determined to marry her to an old goat of 45 merely because he was rich. . . ." N-Y E Post, February 25, 1830, p. 2, col. 2 I was told by a little girl at an airport in June that I was very old was going to die soon. These bad jokes are ample proof of my decease. Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego >> Does that ring a bell with anyone? Can you suggest what it might have >> been? [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] >I was told by a little girl at an airport in June that I was very old >was going to die soon. These bad jokes are ample proof of my decease. I can remember when Pontius was a pilot. Mike SignatureM.J.Powell >>> Does that ring a bell with anyone? Can you suggest what it might have >>> been? [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > >I can remember when Pontius was a pilot. My dad could remember when Tooting Carman was a mere pedestrian. SignatureRobin Herts, England > My dad could remember when Tooting Carman was a mere pedestrian. Indian summer doldrums, no? My guess is that the reference is to (Briarlee) Tooting Carman, a male Devon Rex cat born 11-08-63. This breed is new but now internationally recognized and eligible for cat show championships; see http://www.devonrex.com/faq/history.cfm Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego The tinwhistler entity posted thusly: >> My dad could remember when Tooting Carman was a mere pedestrian. > >Indian summer doldrums, no? My guess is that the reference is to >(Briarlee) Tooting Carman, a male Devon Rex cat born 11-08-63. This >breed is new but now internationally recognized and eligible for cat >show championships; see Interesting. I took it as a reference to King Tut, in a non-rhotic sort of way. The strangest pronunciation I have ever heard for the king was by a fellow doing a TV show about him, wherein he called him what sounded like "two-tank ahmen". Visions of Egyptian rappers and Arthur Johnson sprang immediately to mind. > Interesting. I took it as a reference to King Tut, in a non-rhotic > sort of way. [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > like "two-tank ahmen". Visions of Egyptian rappers and Arthur Johnson > sprang immediately to mind. The pronunciation that is in MW and on its sound file, you mean? http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?bixtut01.wav=Tutankhamen What's your way? Toot'n Common? SignatureBest -- Donna Richoux trio@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) wrote in message <1hohfwj.1bf74bk1no97joN%trio@euronet.nl>... >> Interesting. I took it as a reference to King Tut, in a non-rhotic >> sort of way. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > What's your way? Toot'n Common? It is TUT ANKH AMUN, pronounced TUT ANKH AMOON. Trust me, I know. SignatureNefertem-saf-messes II trio@euronet.nl (Donna Richoux) wrote in message <1hohfwj.1bf74bk1no97joN%trio@euronet.nl>... > What's your way? Toot'n Common? Ik vind jou een ontsnapte kibbelende hangbuikvarkenkonteneuker. Hoerezoon. Talore, á moeder op een fles. Gaat 'm zelf aftrekken. Wat ben jij een indolente dichtgegroeide pissebed. The Donna Richoux entity posted thusly: >> Interesting. I took it as a reference to King Tut, in a non-rhotic >> sort of way. [quoted text clipped - 7 lines] > > http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/audio.pl?bixtut01.wav=Tutankhamen No. That sounds like tutan-kahmen. This one was most definitely "two-tank ahmen", with the last part having no "k". >What's your way? Toot'n Common? Pretty much, perhaps a little more like "toot'n-kahmen" with more of a short "a". It's not really "my way", though. It's the way I hear it most often, with the MW way a close second. > The tinwhistler entity posted thusly: [snip] > Interesting. I took it as a reference to King Tut, in a non-rhotic > sort of way. [snip] I'll take it that way too, now that you point it out. Thanks. Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego > The tinwhistler entity posted thusly: > [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > like "two-tank ahmen". Visions of Egyptian rappers and Arthur Johnson > sprang immediately to mind. I think it would have been "toot ankh amun". The man tried to change the "world" religion to the worship of Amun, and I think his given name was Tut. I'm guessing "ankh" in this context means something like "priest of". SignatureRob Bannister > I think it would have been "toot ankh amun". The man tried to change the > "world" religion to the worship of Amun, and I think his given name was > Tut. I'm guessing "ankh" in this context means something like "priest of". You have that rather the wrong way round. Tut-ankh-amun's predecessor, Akhnaten, tried to change the religion to worship of Aten. Tut-ankh-amun's original name was Tut-ankh-aten. He may have been Akhnaten's son. "Ankh" means life; one explanation of the name Tut-ankh-amun" is "living image of Amun". Fran >> I think it would have been "toot ankh amun". The man tried to change >> the "world" religion to the worship of Amun, and I think his given [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Tut-ankh-amun's original name was Tut-ankh-aten. He may have been > Akhnaten's son. Whoops! I knew that. I've even got books about it. > "Ankh" means life; one explanation of the name Tut-ankh-amun" is "living > image of Amun". Thanks for that. I only knew it as a funny-looking sort of pendant worn by VIPs like pharoah and priest. SignatureRob Bannister The Robert Bannister entity posted thusly: >> The tinwhistler entity posted thusly: >> [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >> like "two-tank ahmen". Visions of Egyptian rappers and Arthur Johnson >> sprang immediately to mind. >I think it would have been "toot ankh amun". You may think it was, and you may well be right. But if you are saying that the fellow I heard actually said "toot ankh amun", I can assure you that he did not. I rewound and listened at least 8 or 10 times. "two-tank ahmen" was exactly how it sounded. > The man tried to change the >"world" religion to the worship of Amun, and I think his given name was >Tut. I'm guessing "ankh" in this context means something like "priest of". "Life" I think. > My dad could remember when Tooting Carman was a mere pedestrian. Was that his name? In our family he was always known as "Toot and come in". SignaturePeter Moylan http://www.pmoylan.org Please note the changed e-mail and web addresses. The domain eepjm.newcastle.edu.au no longer exists, and I can no longer receive mail at my newcastle.edu.au addresses. The optusnet address could disappear at any time. >> My dad could remember when Tooting Carman was a mere pedestrian. > > Was that his name? In our family he was always known as "Toot and > come in". He gave his life for tourism. One I recall is "... knew General Motors when he was only a colonel". SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |I need to get a new colander. My 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |old one has holes in it. Palo Alto, CA 94304 kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ Paul Erdos would answer with "2.5 billion years", and then explain that when he was young the age of the Earth was 2 billion years, but now it was known to be 4.5 billion years. John SignatureJohn Chew (poslfit on MD) * jjchew@math.utoronto.ca * http://www.poslfit.com >A few years years ago, I was tickled by a mumble-year old's answer to >the question: "How old are you?". But I've forgotten it. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >Does that ring a bell with anyone? Can you suggest what it might have >been? "umpty-three"? SignaturePeter Duncanson, UK (in alt.usage.english) >>Does that ring a bell with anyone? Can you suggest what it might have >>been? > >"umpty-three"? It was something like that. The "umpty"-bit sounds right. That may have been it. Thanks! Him D > A few years years ago, I was tickled by a mumble-year old's answer to > the question: "How old are you?". But I've forgotten it. [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] > > Jim D As old as me tung, an' a bit older than me teeth. Cheers, Sage > A few years years ago, I was tickled by a mumble-year old's > answer to the question: "How old are you?". But I've forgotten [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > Does that ring a bell with anyone? Can you suggest what it might > have been? You might occasionally hear something like "eleventy-three" (which sounds vaguely like those numbers). Whether it tickles or not is another question. Signaturerzed Lawyer: How old are you? Witness: 73 until 120. Lawyer: Just answer the question. I'll ask you again: how old are you? Witness: I told you: 73 until 120. Judge: Allow me to ask this question: How old are you until 120? Witness: 73. Izzy > Lawyer: How old are you? > Witness: 73 until 120. [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > Judge: Allow me to ask this question: How old are you until 120? > Witness: 73. I've only heard that joke with "kinehora" (variously spelled). SignatureEvan Kirshenbaum +------------------------------------ HP Laboratories |A little government and a little luck 1501 Page Mill Road, 1U, MS 1141 |are necessary in life, but only a Palo Alto, CA 94304 |fool trusts either of them. | P.J. O'Rourke kirshenbaum@hpl.hp.com (650)857-7572 http://www.kirshenbaum.net/ >> Does that ring a bell with anyone? Can you suggest what it might >> have been? > >You might occasionally hear something like "eleventy-three" That wasn't it - but it is a good one, nevertheless! (: Perhaps that's even better than the one I was searching for. Thanks! Jim D >A few years years ago, I was tickled by a mumble-year old's answer to >the question: "How old are you?". But I've forgotten it. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >Does that ring a bell with anyone? Can you suggest what it might have >been? Umpty-three? 'Umpteen' also exists. > A few years years ago, I was tickled by a mumble-year old's answer to > the question: "How old are you?". But I've forgotten it. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Does that ring a bell with anyone? Can you suggest what it might have > been? I remember a Ronald Reagan joke that somehow fits your description. On his birthday, when he turned (?) let's say 74, he said something like "Now, for the second time in my life I turn 37." |
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