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Discussion Forum—A Way with Words, a fun radio show and podcast about language

A Way with Words, a radio show and podcast about language and linguistics.

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Susan Orlean confirms a funny "K" word
Martha Barnette
San Diego, CA
820 Posts
(Offline)
1
2009/09/26 - 8:29pm

Without necessarily meaning to, writer Susan Orlean has just confirmed what those of us who heard the "Words with a 'K' in Them are Funny" episode already knew: Words with a "K" in them are funny.

In this week's issue of The New Yorker, she writes about the revival of backyard chicken-raising. She became a chicken enthusiast herself several years ago. There's only an abstract of the article online, but suffice it to say that at a particularly heart-tugging moment in the article, her use of the word "chicken" ends up being just damn funny. And I think it's partly just because, as Neil Simon pointed out, the word "chicken" is just plain funny.

Grant Barrett
San Diego, California
1532 Posts
(Offline)
2
2009/09/27 - 9:35am

Aha! It all comes around. Earlier this month Orlean asked on Twitter, "At least 6 diff. sources credited w/ 'K sounds are funnier'. Who said it?" One of our listeners responded to Orlean, "Grant Barrett said that K sounds are funny on one of the A Way with Words (@wayword) podcasts. See http://bit.ly/QVhRL." To which I responded from the @wayword Twitter account, "Neil Simon said words with K in them are funny in 'The Sunshine Boys' ca1973 http://tinyurl.com/qzq6rg 1st? Dunno." So, neat, eh?

Ron Draney
721 Posts
(Offline)
3
2009/09/27 - 12:00pm

martha said:

...suffice it to say that at a particularly heart-tugging moment in the article, her use of the word "chicken" ends up being just damn funny. And I think it's partly just because, as Neil Simon pointed out, the word "chicken" is just plain funny.


And then there's this.

Martha Barnette
San Diego, CA
820 Posts
(Offline)
4
2009/09/27 - 3:09pm

LOL, Ron! You definitely have a point there! 🙂

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