Globalisation and Cannibalism

[robinturner]

Sorry if you were expecting a serious political essay here. I just wanted to share a nice example of syntactic ambiguity from a paper on globalisation I'm grading: "People start to consume lots of things like American people."

I'm reminded of a slogan that was popular in 1980s Britain: "Eat the rich!"

Comments

[redngold.livejournal.com]

There's good eating on them rich buggers...

Seriously, I'm beginning to wonder when America will enter the next phase of class war. There's a historical precedent, no?

[soliss.livejournal.com]

Woot for structural ambiguity!

Still no sign of land. How long is it?

[kesey.livejournal.com]

"People start to consume lots of things like American people."

LOL .. but no thanks! Either too fatty or completely devoid of carbs :P

which of course brings to my (admittedly quirky) mind:

1: "But to be perfectly frank I...I like my meat a little more lean. I'd rather eat Hodges.
?: Oh well, all right.
5: I still prefer Johnson.
C: I wish you'd all stop bickering and eat me.
1: Look. I tell you what. Those who want to can eat Johnson. And you, sir, can have my leg. And we make some stock from the Captain, and then we'll have Johnson cold for supper."

Where have you gone, Jonathan Swift?

[oblomova.livejournal.com]

The problem with eating Americans is an hour later you want to eat them again.

[solri.livejournal.com]

The best innuendos are the innocent ones. Many years ago we were discussing word limits on student essays, and one respectable proper British lady remarked "I don't understand this obsession with length." The meeting collapsed, and the phrase "obsession with length" keeps returning to haunt unit meetings.

Re: Where have you gone, Jonathan Swift?

[solri.livejournal.com]

Unless they've been on the Atkins diet, in which case they can remain undigested for several weeks.

Re: Still no sign of land. How long is it?

[solri.livejournal.com]

That rings a bell, but I can't quite place it. Ripping Yarns?

Re: Still no sign of land. How long is it?

[kesey.livejournal.com]

ahh .. that would be "The lifeboat sketch," which I found conveniently transcribed here (beats trying to get it right from recall, what with my goldfish-like memory and all that)

umm .. what were we talking about, anyway?

Re: Still no sign of land. How long is it?

[kesey.livejournal.com]

oh .. and that was on "Monty Python's Previous Record," though it probably aired on one of the programmes .. not quite sure now.