Category Archives: Folk speech

Never Ever Ebbers

Nationality: American - (Welsh)
Age: 53
Occupation: Homemaker
Residence: Winnetka, IL
Performance Date: Saturday March 26th, 2016
Primary Language: English
Language: French

L is a 53-year-old homemaker living in Winnetka, IL. L grew up mainly in the northern suburbs of Illinois, but she also lived in Germany and England for a while when she was younger. L speaks English primarily but she is learning French. L attended both the University of Southern California and the University of Wisconsin Madison for her undergraduate college education. L considers herself to be American. She does not really identify with her Welsh ancestry.

Me: What’s something funny your family likes to joke about?

L: Oh! Never ever ebbers.

Me: What is that?

L: Well, they are a very creative and inventive name for a drip castle made on a beach.

Me: Ok. Where did they originate?

L: They originated in Ogunquit, Maine, on a small lighthouse beach. My four year old daughter was sitting on the beach and she was very engaged in making this castle and I remember leaning over and saying “can I help you make a castle?” And she just looked at me and said it is not a castle, it is “Nebber Ebber Ebbers.” I think she was trying to say Never ever land or something like that.

Me: But ebbers stuck?

L: We sat there making ebbers forever. I swear we were making ebbers for three hours. And then my husband and I kept asking what is never ever ebbers, and she would reply, “it’s nebber ebber ebbers!” so, the funniest part was when we asked her if we could eat the ebbers. She said no. Is ebbers a castle or a house? She’d say no. And finally I just agreed with her that it must just be never ever ebbers, and I learn something new every day.

Me: So it’s a family thing then? Like a joke.

L: Yeah. We’ve reminded her about it ever since then. We sometimes ask her what it means. when she was 10 we asked her what it meant and she said “what?” Then we asked her if she remembered the drip castles and she was like, “oh!” Then she shrugged her shoulders and said “I don’t know.” I guess we’ll never know! It’s sad, but it’s still funny.

L talks about a the name that her daughter created for the drip castles she was making. The phrase that her daughter started has become a family joke and now drip castles are called “never ever ebbers.” They will probably never know the reason she came up with the name, but it doesn’t seem like that matters. It’s justa  funny memory and a story to tell any time anyone ever makes a drip castle.

Big Book of Riddles

Nationality: American - (Welsh)
Age: 53
Occupation: Homemaker
Residence: Winnetka, IL
Performance Date: Saturday March 26th, 2016
Primary Language: English
Language: French

D is a 57 year old man. He is a practicing cardiologist at a hospital in the northern suburbs of Illinois. He identifies as American as he grew up in Boston, but he strongly associates with his Scottish heritage as well. D completed his undergraduate studies at Dartmouth University and he attended Cornell University for his degree in medicine. During his studies, both undergraduate and med school, D studied abroad in France two times. While in medical school, D studied at the Faculté de Médecine et de Maïeutique de Lille in Lille, France. English is his primary language, yet he is also fluent in French.

Me: Do you have any riddles?

D: Well there was this riddle book that I used to love. “Big Book of Riddles” by Bennett Cerf. The book is probably 40 to 60 years old, and my parents still have it. I loved reading it with my kids when we visited them. The riddles were for children, but everyone always had a good laugh. My kids and my wife and I go though the book every time we visit. It has gotten to a point where we know every riddle in the book from memory.

Me: Can you tell me some of the riddles?

D: Sure. Why do firemen wear red suspenders?

Me: Why?

D: To keep their pants up!

Me: Ok.

D: What did the pig say when the farmer caught him by the tail?

Me: I don’t know?

D: This is the end of me.

Me: That’s a good one.

D: What do you call something that’s big, red, and  eat rocks?

Me: Umm.

D: A big, red, rock eater!

Me: They really gave these a lot of thought didn’t they.

D: Well the thing is, if you make it simple and put a small twist in it, it makes it a lot funnier.

Me: Hmm.

D: What makes more noise than a cat stuck in a tree?

Me: Uh…I have no idea.

D: Two cats!

Me: Wow.

D: What time is it when there is an elephant sitting on your fence?

Me: …

D: Time to build a new fence!

Me: Oh my god.

D talks about the book fondly and still gets a good laugh out of them. The are just stupid, dumb fun and he enjoy’s the feeling of being a kid again when reading them. The book still remains in his family after 40 to 60 years! His children will likely pass the book down to their kids as well, and if not the book then at least their favorite riddles. It’s funny how something so simple and childish and seemingly dumb can bring someone so much joy. It’s funny to think that reading a book of riddles can be a family tradition, but it is.

Here’s the link to the book: http://www.amazon.com/Book-riddles-Beginner-books-Bennett/dp/B0007DL5JU/ref=pd_sim_14_2?ie=UTF8&dpID=415%2BjVvyVCL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR115%2C160_&refRID=05WW8ZMV8F9E8CX6H72H

 

The “Sphinx” Riddle

Nationality: Cuban-American
Occupation: Attorney
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish
  1. The “Sphinx” Riddle:

“What is the creature that walks on four legs in the morning, two legs at noon and three in the evening?” “Man”.

  1. My father had heard this riddle a long time ago from one of his professors in college. The professor actually offered extra credit to anyone in the class that was able to solve this riddle. My dad was actually pretty good at solving riddles, but with this one in particular he remembered he had an extremely difficult time solving.
  2. Aside from just being a complex riddle people enjoy sharing with others, this riddle is actually significant in Ancient Drama. In the Greek play titled, Oedipus Tyranny, this riddle is featured as the riddle that destroyed the sphinx. Due to this play, this riddle is commonly recognized as the “Sphinx Riddle”.
  3. I actually thought that this riddle was also extremely difficult to solve as well. Even after the answer was given to me I was still slightly confused by it. After a thorough explanation of the answer, I understood the riddle. I think since the answer itself was as complex as the riddle, this is what truly made it nearly impossible to solve on your own without any extra help or guidance.

The Luck Proverb

Nationality: Cuban
Primary Language: English
Language: Spanish
  1. You can have it all- looks, money, and intelligence. But if you don’t have luck, then none of it matters.
  2. This proverb was one my grandmother had heard from her grandmother, and so on. It has been passed primarily through the maternal side of my family for generations. It is a strong belief she has always held, and believes it is applicable to everyone’s lives. Looking back on things she was able to accomplish in her past, she believes that none of it would have been possible had she not credited to at least a little bit of just good luck. This isn’t to say that she believes that other qualities and characteristics do not matter, but she thinks that luck is truly what is the leading force for a lot of her accomplishments and successes.
  3. This is a family proverb that can be shared with other families simply if they believe in and agree with what this proverb is emphasizing; luck is an essential force in helping you reach your personal goals.
  4. I personally do agree with this proverb and would happily share it continuously with my family and future generations. Sometimes being ‘in the right place and at the right time’ can surpass anything else.

The Ghost Joke

Nationality: Chinese
Age: 18
Occupation: Student
Primary Language: Chinese
Language: English
  1. Why can’t ghosts ever become comedians? Because they’re dead serious.

OR the alternate ending, because they’re dead. (An ‘Anti-joke’).

  1. The informant actually created this joke and ‘Anti-joke’, herself. It features a classic joke ending, and an Anti-joke ending that she can alternate depending on what she believes her audience will find more enjoyable. Anti-jokes are purposefully set up so that you believe you will get a normal punchline that is found in other jokes. In regular cases for jokes, the punchlines are supposed to be edited so that they’re intentionally funny, but for Anti-jokes this is not the case. Anti-jokes are not intended to be funny, and that itself is the actual punchline.
  2. The informant created this joke during her senior year of high school. She created this Anti-joke during class time when she was bored. She then shared her joke with the rest of her classmates.
  3. I thought that this joke was funny. I actually liked the Anti-joke ending more, because I definitely expected a more complex answer than the one I had received. Again, this is the purpose of an Anti-joke. You are essentially expecting something drastically different than what you are told. This is why I found the alternate ending funnier, since I usually have a good idea as to what the punchline of a joke would be. With this joke, I was definitely surprised by its ending.