Grex Language Conference

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Grex Language Item 131: "The Echo Effect" echoed
Entered by rcurl on Mon May 24 15:14:25 UTC 2004:

A recent New York Times crossword called "The Echo Effect" had under this
rubric the following clues and answers (hyphens added for clarity):

"Flirting with a patient, e.g.?"

     DOCTOR NO-NO

"What the mother of a dozen kids says just before turning out the light?"

     TWELFTH NIGHT-NIGHT

"Have a 'Sar Wars' character preserved?"

     PICKLE JAR-JAR

"Give either a wholly good or bad review?"

     SAY IT ISN'T SO-SO

"Lively fish dance?"

     SARDINE CAN-CAN

"What the impatient reader of English essays requested?"

     LAMP CHOP-CHOP

"Drum that makes tiny bird sounds?"

     PEEPING TOM-TOM

"Phrase describing an offerer of sympathy?"

     WHO GOES THERE-THERE

"Royal rebuke?"

     KING TUT-TUT

The general pattern is a well-known two word expression, title, or
character name, with the second word repeated to create a new meaning.

Can you create any more of these?

10 responses total.

#1 of 10 by rcurl on Mon May 24 15:16:35 2004:

Bear that decries?

     WINNIE THE POOH-POOH

#2 of 10 by albaugh on Tue May 25 18:36:30 2004:

This is lame, but lemme try:

What a mother locomotive says to her sneezing offspring:

        A - CHOO-CHOO!

#3 of 10 by rcurl on Tue May 25 21:15:09 2004:

That's pretty good - but it works pretty well in a crossword puzzle,
since if you  get the last word, you have a clue to a common expression. 
Consider, however, what the writer of that puzzle  had to go through
to generate those they used (and fit them in a puzzle!).

#4 of 10 by albaugh on Wed May 26 21:31:22 2004:

I can't think up these on the spot - it takes some cogitation...

#5 of 10 by rcurl on Thu May 27 00:55:56 2004:

The point to begin would seem to be to look for expressions of the form
xyz-xyz, and then to recognize another common expression "uvw xyz".
So let's try that. Hmmmmm....

#6 of 10 by albaugh on Thu May 27 20:50:08 2004:

Not so easy when you want to come up with something /lame...

#7 of 10 by albaugh on Thu Apr 27 22:08:16 2006:

It's been almost 2 years...  ;-)

#8 of 10 by rcurl on Thu Apr 27 22:24:39 2006:

Seems like yesterday....

#9 of 10 by naftee on Fri Apr 28 22:09:03 2006:

you old-timers.

Does it work backwards ?

"A game involving foie gras"

DUCK DUCK GOOSE LIVER

#10 of 10 by rcurl on Sat Apr 29 05:29:18 2006:

Close, although it doesn't work as DUCK-DUCK GOOSE LIVER. 

  French dancer coif

            CAN-CAN DO

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