When I was teaching at Georgia State University, in the mid and late
70s, a grad student came to tell me her paper would be late. She had
gotten home, out in the country, the previous day and had found their
St. Bernard dead on the den floor, and she had to remove the 185 lb. dog
before the kids got home. She took it to the vet, who found fang marks
and determined that it had been bitten probably by a water moccasin.
The family had a pond on the back of the property, and the dog was
probably bitten there.
No way anyone could have made this one up.
Herb
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Larry Beason
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 2:52 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Creative excuses
Okay, let me give the best 'worst excuse' I ever heard. A student said
he had to stay home and console his girlfriend, whose cat committed
suicide.
Larry Beason
____________________________
Larry Beason, Associate Professor
Director of Composition
University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL 36688-0002
251-460-7861
>>> "Stahlke, Herbert F.W." <[log in to unmask]> 12/14/06 1:36 PM >>>
"Ammonia", in this usage, is a variety of eggcorn, a very interesting
sort of confusion between words and/or spellings. If you'd like to
see
a lot of them and get some links to some fascinating discussion, try
http://eggcorns.lascribe.net/
Herb
-----Original Message-----
From: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Geoffrey Layton
Sent: Thursday, December 14, 2006 2:19 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Creative excuses
A good holiday topic! Here's a creative comment, although not
etymologically based, from a student catching a few z's in the back
row,
when called out of his somnolent state: "I'm not sleeping. I just
blink
real slow!"
Geoff Layton
>From: "Veit, Richard" <[log in to unmask]>
>Reply-To: Assembly for the Teaching of English Grammar
><[log in to unmask]>
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: For you fans of folk etymology
>Date: Thu, 14 Dec 2006 13:46:43 -0500
>
>Student Excuse Awards: Best New Disease
>
>
>
>My wife received this email:
>
>
>
>Hello Mrs. Veit.
>
>How are you doing... I hope better than myself.
>
>I actually have a walking ammonia! No wonder I'm so ill right? I, of
>course, have doctors notes for you....
>
>
>
>On the positive side, her windows are very clean.
>
>
>
>Dick Veit
>
>________________________________
>
>Richard Veit
>Department of English
>University of North Carolina Wilmington
>
>
>
>
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