Linguistics Talk Linguistics Talk    FAQ   Search   Memberlist   Usergroups   Register   Profile   Log in to check your private messages   Log in  "Are We Having Fun Yet?" Goto page 1, 2  Next          Linguistics Talk Forum Index -> Linguistics Talk View previous topic :: View next topic   Author Message Stefan Ram Guest Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 6:13 am    Post subject: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" I found out about »Are We Having Fun Yet?« so far: »This rather common expression has its origins in the comic strip Zippy the Pinhead, created by Bill Griffith. Due to it's overuse, the expression made it's way into Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.« http://everything2.com/e2node/Are%2520We%2520Having%2520Fun%2520Yet%253F »[A]n annoying phrase coined by [persons] at convenience stores, offices, or pretty much any place of business« (There are more entries regarding this on the page.) http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=are+we+having+fun+yet%3F (Feel free to only answer one or some of the following questions.) Under which circumstance (when) would a person at a store say this? What does he intended to express by saying this (to a customer?)? What reaction or answer is expected or would be normal? Why is it deemed »annoying« by some people? Here is another text: »Imagine two ancient humans running across the savannah with a hungry lion in pursuit. One guy says to the other, "Are we having fun yet?" and the other just looks blank and stops to figure out what in the world his pal meant by that remark.« http://richarddawkins.net/article,2761,A,B I wonder if the author of this text assumes that this phrase is used for the first time in this situation. In this case, can one deem it difficult to understand this phrase indeed even for a native speaker? (So, it is an idiom whose meaning needs to be learned in addition to the meaning of its words?) Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Skitt Guest Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 6:35 am    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" Stefan Ram wrote: Quote: I found out about »Are We Having Fun Yet?« so far: »This rather common expression has its origins in the comic strip Zippy the Pinhead, created by Bill Griffith. Due to it's overuse, the expression made it's way into Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.« http://everything2.com/e2node/Are%2520We%2520Having%2520Fun%2520Yet%253F »[A]n annoying phrase coined by [persons] at convenience stores, offices, or pretty much any place of business« (There are more entries regarding this on the page.) http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=are+we+having+fun+yet%3F (Feel free to only answer one or some of the following questions.) Under which circumstance (when) would a person at a store say this? What does he intended to express by saying this (to a customer?)? What reaction or answer is expected or would be normal? Why is it deemed »annoying« by some people? Here is another text: »Imagine two ancient humans running across the savannah with a hungry lion in pursuit. One guy says to the other, "Are we having fun yet?" and the other just looks blank and stops to figure out what in the world his pal meant by that remark.« http://richarddawkins.net/article,2761,A,B I wonder if the author of this text assumes that this phrase is used for the first time in this situation. In this case, can one deem it difficult to understand this phrase indeed even for a native speaker? (So, it is an idiom whose meaning needs to be learned in addition to the meaning of its words?) I've used the expression when I have been involved in an argument that was going nowhere. -- Skitt (AmE) Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor John O'Flaherty Guest Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 11:03 am    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" On 4 Jul 2008 01:13:07 GMT, ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) wrote: Quote: I found out about »Are We Having Fun Yet?« so far: »This rather common expression has its origins in the comic strip Zippy the Pinhead, created by Bill Griffith. Due to it's overuse, the expression made it's way into Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.« http://everything2.com/e2node/Are%2520We%2520Having%2520Fun%2520Yet%253F »[A]n annoying phrase coined by [persons] at convenience stores, offices, or pretty much any place of business« (There are more entries regarding this on the page.) http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=are+we+having+fun+yet%3F (Feel free to only answer one or some of the following questions.) Under which circumstance (when) would a person at a store say this? Same as for anywhere else. Quote: What does he intended to express by saying this (to a customer?)? What reaction or answer is expected or would be normal? Decide for yourself, based on the meaning. To spell it out, when one is having fun, there is no need to ask if it is so. The fact of asking signals that fun is not being had yet. There is a suggestion in the question that the asker had some expectation of having fun, and a further suggestion that the person asked had aroused that expectation. But it's entirely jocular, including any nuances. Quote: Why is it deemed »annoying« by some people? It's cliched. The joke has faded. Quote: Here is another text: »Imagine two ancient humans running across the savannah with a hungry lion in pursuit. One guy says to the other, "Are we having fun yet?" and the other just looks blank and stops to figure out what in the world his pal meant by that remark.« http://richarddawkins.net/article,2761,A,B I wonder if the author of this text assumes that this phrase is used for the first time in this situation. In this case, can one deem it difficult to understand this phrase indeed even for a native speaker? (So, it is an idiom whose meaning needs to be learned in addition to the meaning of its words?) No, the author is talking about the evolutionary value of sarcasm in general. He is using this joking question in a joking example of the survival value of sarcasm. In the example, the asker appreciates sarcasm and uses it; his companion doesn't understand it, and is so surprised that he stops to figure it out, and is eaten by the lion, allowing the sarcastic guy to escape. It's not an idiom; it's a joke, used in a joke. -- John Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Mike M Guest Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 2:23 pm    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" On 4 Jul, 14:31, "James Silverton" <jim.silver...@verizon.net> wrote: Quote: I'm not going to argue about Zippy and "Are we having fun yet?" but "yet" as an intensifying adverb is probably a lot older. Leo Rosten lists it as a translation into Yinglish of Yiddish "nokh" (from German "noch", I suppose.}  He says it is "umbrageous, indignant, a cry against the unjust."    "After losing all my money, he wants to be paid yet." cf. "already". Mike M Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Donna Richoux Guest Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 4:43 pm    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" Stefan Ram <ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de> wrote: Quote: »[A]n annoying phrase coined by [persons] at convenience stores, offices, or pretty much any place of business« That's an error by the Urban Dictionary contributor (so what else is new). "Coined" means "created"; it doesn't mean "used." Except in the sense that a frequently repeated mistake acquires a meaning that way. "To coin a phrase" is said ironically by people who realize they are uttering a cliche. This has led to the confusion, I think. Besides all that, I cannot image a clerk at a convenience store asking a customer whether they are having fun yet. I can just barely imagine a cheery boss asking the clerk, but the clerk's notion of fun would probably be dangerous for the store, not beneficial. (Rob the cash register! Scatter the merchandise!) -- Best -- Donna Richoux Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor James Silverton Guest Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 6:31 pm    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" Stefan wrote on 4 Jul 2008 01:13:07 GMT: Quote: »This rather common expression has its origins in the comic strip Zippy the Pinhead, created by Bill Griffith. Due to it's overuse, the expression made it's way into Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.« http://everything2.com/e2node/Are%2520We%2520Having%2520Fun%2520Yet%253F »[A]n annoying phrase coined by [persons] at convenience stores, offices, or pretty much any place of business« (There are more entries regarding this on the page.) http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=are+we+having+fun+yet%3F I'm not going to argue about Zippy and "Are we having fun yet?" but "yet" as an intensifying adverb is probably a lot older. Leo Rosten lists it as a translation into Yinglish of Yiddish "nokh" (from German "noch", I suppose.} He says it is "umbrageous, indignant, a cry against the unjust." "After losing all my money, he wants to be paid yet." -- James Silverton Potomac, Maryland E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor James Silverton Guest Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 8:12 pm    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" Mike wrote on Fri, 4 Jul 2008 07:23:29 -0700 (PDT): Quote: I'm not going to argue about Zippy and "Are we having fun yet?" but "yet" as an intensifying adverb is probably a lot older. Leo Rosten lists it as a translation into Yinglish of Yiddish "nokh" (from German "noch", I suppose.} He says it is "umbrageous, indignant, a cry against the unjust." "After losing all my money, he wants to be paid yet." cf. "already". I suppose the usage that I regard as New-Yorkish but is probably Yinglish, stems from the German root "noch" that can mean still, yet, more, else, however, etc. German "schon": already, has a range of meanings too but I don't know enough Yinglish to say if it is used in some form. -- James Silverton Potomac, Maryland E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor CDB Guest Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 9:53 pm    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" Stefan Ram wrote: Quote: I found out about »Are We Having Fun Yet?« so far: »This rather common expression has its origins in the comic strip Zippy the Pinhead, created by Bill Griffith. Due to it's overuse, the expression made it's way into Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.« http://everything2.com/e2node/Are%2520We%2520Having%2520Fun%2520Yet% 253F »[A]n annoying phrase coined by [persons] at convenience stores, offices, or pretty much any place of business« (There are more entries regarding this on the page.) http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=are+we+having+fun+yet%3F UD entry #2 gives you a good idea of what the phrase means, which should help you decide when to use it, or if. You know that the Urban Dictionary is a very undependable source of information, eh? Quote: Under which circumstance (when) would a person at a store say this? I think the UD is talking about a pickup line used between customers. Spot a single MILF in the diaper aisle, stroll up all debonair and say something incredibly witty, get lucky for sure. Or else she replies "Until now," and shows you her can of bear spray. Quote: What does he intended to express by saying this (to a customer?)? Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? Quote: What reaction or answer is expected or would be normal? Acknowledgement of the sally. Anything from tinkly laughter and admiring glances to bearspray, as above.* Quote: Why is it deemed »annoying« by some people? 'Tain't funny. They're tired and they want to go home. Born under a "No Trespassing" sign. I don't think anybody's mentioned yet that Zip (or whoever) coined the expression in parody of the stereotypical question, endlessly repeated by children on car trips, "Are we there yet?" __________________ *Or, from a third party, "That's muh gurrl." Why did Moose's dialogue in the _Archie_ comics come out like that anyway? Were the others all non-rhotic? [lions accounted for, except that I would call it irony, not sarcasm] Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Stefan Ram Guest Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:07 pm    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" "James Silverton" <jim.silverton@verizon.net> writes: Quote: I suppose the usage that I regard as New-Yorkish but is probably Yinglish, stems from the German root "noch" that can mean still, yet, more, else, however, etc. German "schon": already, has a range of meanings too but I don't know enough Yinglish to say if it is used in some form. I have interpreted »yet« as »schon« (»already«). This is compatible with the interpretation that someone is promising fun, but someone else does not sense fun, so he needs to ask whether this is already that what was promised to be fun or if this is yet to come. This interpretation is also given by »urbandictionary.com«, but it has only »10 up« points. I was irritated, when the explanation that is at least partially wrong (according to this group) with »coined by persons at convenience stores« has more »up points« (25) at »urbandictionary.com« than the one the one with 10 up points. »dict.leo.org« list the following German translations for »yet«: »dennoch«, »jedoch«, »noch«, »schon«, »sogar«, »jetzt noch«, and »noch immer«. This is slightly confusing, because without context one might not be able to find the correct translation. But a closer look shows that in German »noch« and »schon« also have different meanings depending on the context. For example, the meanings of the two instances of »schon« are different in: »Hast du deine Hausaufgaben schon gemacht?« - »Ich werde sie schon noch machen!« where »schon« and »noch« even are combined in an idiomatic way. Some more details could be written about how these words relate to time intervals that start or end at some point or to intensities that increase or decrease with time, but I need to do some errands now. Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Stefan Ram Guest Posted: Fri Jul 04, 2008 10:23 pm    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram) writes: Quote: »dict.leo.org« list the following German translations for »yet«: »dennoch«, »jedoch«, »noch«, »schon«, »sogar«, »jetzt noch«, and »noch immer«. This is slightly confusing, because without context one might not be able to find the correct translation. PS: When »Are we having fun yet.« is translated to German according to the above list, one might choose from: - »Haben wir schon Spaß?« - »Haben wir noch Spaß?« - »Haben wir dennoch Spaß?« - »Haben wir sogar Spaß?« But the meanings of these translations are quite different: In the first case, the factors that can produce fun are deemed to be /increasing/, so that at some instant one will /start/ to have fun, and the question is, whether this instant already has passed. In the second case, the factors that can produce fun are deemed to be /decreasing/, so that at some instant one will /stop/ to have fun, and the question is, whether this instant already has passed. In the third case, there circumstance are deemed to suppress fun, and the question is whether we still (in spite of these circumstance) have fun. In the fourth case, there are several good circumstances, for example, we might earn a lot of money, and the question is whether we even (in addition to this) are having fun. (But it also can have the meaning of the third case.) Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Nick Guest Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 12:38 am    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" James Silverton wrote: Quote: Stefan wrote on 4 Jul 2008 01:13:07 GMT: »This rather common expression has its origins in the comic strip Zippy the Pinhead, created by Bill Griffith. Due to it's overuse, the expression made it's way into Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.« http://everything2.com/e2node/Are%2520We%2520Having%2520Fun%2520Yet%253F »[A]n annoying phrase coined by [persons] at convenience stores, offices, or pretty much any place of business« (There are more entries regarding this on the page.) http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=are+we+having+fun+yet%3F I'm not going to argue about Zippy and "Are we having fun yet?" but "yet" as an intensifying adverb is probably a lot older. Leo Rosten lists it as a translation into Yinglish of Yiddish "nokh" (from German "noch", I suppose.} He says it is "umbrageous, indignant, a cry against the unjust." "After losing all my money, he wants to be paid yet." It's not common on this side of the pond, but "Having fun?" said to someone (perhaps literally) up to their neck in an unpleasant job is. Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor John Dean Guest Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 3:54 am    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" Stefan Ram wrote: Quote: I found out about »Are We Having Fun Yet?« so far: »This rather common expression has its origins in the comic strip Zippy the Pinhead, created by Bill Griffith. Due to it's overuse, the expression made it's way into Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.« Seems like a variation on a trope from an old music hall song - "Is everybody happy? You bet your life we are!" -- John Dean Oxford Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor tinwhistler Guest Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 5:14 am    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" On Jul 4, 6:31 am, "James Silverton" <jim.silver...@verizon.net> wrote: Quote: Stefan wrote on 4 Jul 2008 01:13:07 GMT: »This rather common expression has its origins in the comic strip Zippy the Pinhead, created by Bill Griffith. Due to it's overuse, the expression made it's way into Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.« http://everything2.com/e2node/Are%2520We%2520Having%2520Fun%2520Yet%253F »[A]n annoying phrase coined by [persons] at convenience stores, offices, or pretty much any place of business« (There are more entries regarding this on the page.) http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=are+we+having+fun+yet%3F I'm not going to argue about Zippy and "Are we having fun yet?" but "yet" as an intensifying adverb is probably a lot older. Leo Rosten lists it as a translation into Yinglish of Yiddish "nokh" (from German "noch", I suppose.} He says it is "umbrageous, indignant, a cry against the unjust." "After losing all my money, he wants to be paid yet." -- James Silverton Potomac, Maryland E-mail, with obvious alterations: not.jim.silverton.at.verizon.not The Zippy claim is set out at the official Bill Griffith website as follows: http://www.zippythepinhead.com/pages/aabillgr.html Although several people, including the comedienne Carol Burnett, claimed to have created it, the phrase "Are we having fun yet?" was in fact first uttered by Zippy in the mid-70s and has been immortalized in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. "It is an expression of the American existential dilemma, of anxiousness," Griffith explained to John Marshall for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (July 1, 1992). "The phrase is supposed to be satirical, but lots of people don't see the subtext." Griffith tolerated the line's appearance on countless bootleg T-shirts and bumper stickers, but was particularly disturbed when it began to be repeated by such mainstream cartoon characters as Garfield, Dennis the Menace, and Ziggy. [end excerpt] Possession is nine points of the law, I guess. -- Aloha ~~~ Ozzie Maland ~~~ San Diego Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor R H Draney Guest Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 9:41 am    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" John Dean filted: Quote: Seems like a variation on a trope from an old music hall song - "Is everybody happy? You bet your life we are!" I associate the first half of that with Ted Lewis, and perhaps with his shadow...(is there a risk of STS in mentioning a performer whose heyday was eighty years ago?)...r -- What good is being an executive if you never get to execute anyone? Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor LFS Guest Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 11:02 am    Post subject: Re: "Are We Having Fun Yet?" John Dean wrote: Quote: Stefan Ram wrote: I found out about »Are We Having Fun Yet?« so far: »This rather common expression has its origins in the comic strip Zippy the Pinhead, created by Bill Griffith. Due to it's overuse, the expression made it's way into Bartlett's Familiar Quotations.« Seems like a variation on a trope from an old music hall song - "Is everybody happy? You bet your life we are!" <sigh> They'll enjoy me singing that in the Co-op. -- Laura (emulate St. George for email) Back to top   Ads Advertising Sponsor Display posts from previous: All Posts1 Day7 Days2 Weeks1 Month3 Months6 Months1 Year Oldest FirstNewest First         Linguistics Talk Forum Index -> Linguistics Talk All times are GMT Goto page 1, 2  Next Page 1 of 2   Jump to: Select a forum Linguistics Talk----------------Linguistics Talk  You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum Australian Debt Consolidation Experts medical insurance Wedding Invitation Trova Escort e Accompagnatrici sui portali di annunci (EscortForum, ItaliaChiamami, PiccoleTrasgressioni ...) 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