Sam =
Weller in Charles =
Dickens’ "Pickwick Papers" (1836-7) was prone to =
producing punning sentences such as: ‘Out with it, as the father said to =
the child when he swallowed a penny’. This type of verbal play, =
involving a metaphorical and a punningly literal sense, soon gained =
popularity under the name of ‘Wellerism’, and a craze for =
devising such expressions rapidly sprang up on both sides of the =
Atlantic. A sample familiar to children is: ‘I see, said the blind man, =
when he picked up his hammer and saw.’
A “Tom =
Swifty” is MY FAVORITE type of Wellerism. This has an adverb =
relating both properly and punningly to a sentence of reported =
speech.
"The =
doctor had to remove my left ventricle," said Tom =
half-heartedly. =
"Your =
Honor, you’re crazy!" said Tom =
judgmentally.
The quip takes =
its name from Tom Swift, a boy’s adventure hero created by the prolific =
American writer Edward L. Stratemeyer (pseudonym Victor Appleton) who =
published a series of books featuring the young Tom Swift. Tom Swift =
rarely passed a remark without a qualifying adverb as "Tom added =
eagerly" or "Tom said jokingly".
**In a true =
Tom Swifty, it is an adverb (word specifying the mode of action of the =
verb) that provides the pun:
"Elvis is =
dead," said Tom expressly.
"I cut =
myself on some glass from that broken window," Tom said =
painfully.
**Frequently =
the pun occurs in the verb, and there may not be an adverb at all. =
Strictly speaking such puns are not Tom Swifties, but they are generally =
included in the term.
"My =
garden needs another layer of mulch," Tom repeated. =
"You must =
be my host," Tom guessed.
**Sometimes it =
is neither a verb, nor an adverb, but a short phrase acting like an =
adverb in modifying the verb:
"I’ve =
only enough carpet for the hall and landing," said Tom with a blank =
stare.
"Don’t =
let me drown in Egypt!" pleaded Tom, deep in denial.
**Traditionally=
, Tom is the speaker, but this is by no means necessary for the pun to =
classify as a Tom Swifty. Sometimes the pun lies in the name, in which =
case it will usually not be Tom speaking:
"Who =
discovered radium?" asked Marie curiously. =
"I’m =
going to end it all," Sue sighed.
**Most Tom =
Swifties are morphological; i.e. the words must be broken down into =
morphemes (smaller components) to understand the =
pun:
"This is =
the real male goose," said Tom producing the =
propaganda.
"The cat =
sounds as if she’s happy now she’s been fed," said Tom =
purposefully.
**Often the =
adverb (or whatever) has a homonym (a word which is pronounced, and =
perhaps spelled, the same, but has a different meaning) which leads to =
the punning meaning of the sentence:
"I have a =
split personality," said Tom, being frank.
"I love =
hot dogs," said Tom with relish.
**There is a =
special kind of homonym called a homophone (homonyms spelled =
differently):
"There’s =
no need for silence," Tom allowed.
"I won’t =
finish in fifth place," Tom held forth.
~~
Dr Bob Griffin =
[email protected] =
www.grif.net
"Jesus =
Knows Me, This I Love!"