One of the best visuals in the Patrick movie was the snakes slithering off
the beach at his arrival. Unfortunately he deserves no more credit for this
than for keeping the elephants away from his cave. My all time favorite
mis-hearing is the reply to "You need a hearing aid." "No I don't need a
hair dryer." The odd thing is that many of these conversations roll right
along. A humbling thought for all speakers. I wonder how many mistakes of
this sort have been solemnly recorded in the pages of literature, giving
fuel to the fires of speculation.
cs
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill East" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2000 6:26 AM
Subject: Irish mule-breeders and Patrick's elephants.
> Unusually among ancient scholars, I can read perfectly without
> spectacles, but I fear I am getting a little hard of hearing in my
> dotage. The other day a table-companion made reference to what I later
> understood to be an "Irish news reader"; but I heard it as an "Irish
> mule breeder"; which resulted in a somewhat surreal conversation, as
> we spoke entirely at cross purposes.
>
> Then, yesterday, listening to a colleague preach a sermon about St
> Patrick, I made a somewhat similar mistake. He actually said that on
> Croag Patrick the saint had only a cave in which to shelter "from the
> elements", but I thought he said "from the elephants", and the rest of
> the sermon was lost to me as I wondered how in the world the elephants
> had got up Croag Patrick, and if he had got rid of them along with the
> snakes.
>
> Have the infirmities of other list-members led them to any ludicrous
> misunderstandings?
>
> The Supple Doctor.
>
>
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