Talk:Scrod

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[edit] I don't see how anyone can say this isn't encyclopedic, when it's one of only two things known to the general public about scrod

'A funny joke about scrod and Boston'

When I was a kid I went to college in Boston (where there are over a hundred 4-year degree-granting institutions by the way). I majored in English, and to make ends meet I drove a cab at night.

This guy gets into my cab and asks to be taken to the airport. He was in town for business and he's leaving. Then he says to me,

"I was kinda busy this trip, and there are some things I didn't get to try. Where do you suppose I could have got scrod around here?"

I thought for a second, then I said,

"You know, I've been driving this cab for three years now and I must have heard that question a thousand times, but that's the first time anyone's asked it in the pluperfect subjunctive."

I follow the story, but I don't see why it is a joke. Can you explain? — Pekinensis 02:49, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Do you know what pluperfect subjunctive is? Or pun? This isn't really a pun; it's a joke about whether there might be a pluperfect subjunctive declension of "screw" and whether it might be a pun of the somewhat localized name of a type of fish, and the culture of a community steeped in education. Blair P. Houghton 03:40, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Thank you. I do indeed know what a "pluperfect subjunctive" is, and now I understand the joke, but wouldn't it have been better to end with "passive pluperfect subjunctive"? The tense and mood of the verb are the same in the intended and the unintended meanings, but there's only a passive in the unintended one. — Pekinensis 03:55, 30 Mar 2005 (UTC)

When I was growing up I was a victim of "new english". It was sort of like new math only worse. They decided we didn't need to know how to diagram sentences and words like noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, etc. were passe. As a result I didn't learn english grammer. The fact that I know what a verb and noun are is due to the fact that I took french and there was no "new french" to prevent my learning those two. Anyway, I heard this joke many many years ago and it was only because I decided to look up plusperfect subjunctive that I found this site. I am please that Pekinensis know what a pluperfect subjunctive is but I still don't. Can someone please give me a definition? If I were to have been taught that I would now know. (I think I may have just used it). Sally

Sally: Pluperfect subjunctive tense ? -- pne (talk) 16:19, 20 June 2006 (UTC)