Althouse: Key word: "regifted."

June 19, 2022

Key word: "regifted."

For Father’s Day my kids regifted me a cold and distant stare.
— Conan O'Brien (@ConanOBrien) June 19, 2022

15 comments:

Rabel said...: I know we're pretty dumb out here in the boonies and we're getting older and dumber, but I don't think you need to start explaining the jokes yet.

Anyway, the ones who need the explanation still aren't going to get it.; 6/19/22, 5:11 PM
gilbar said...: i don't get it. They gave him the same gift as last year?; 6/19/22, 5:27 PM
Lurker21 said...: Was that Seinfeld or Curb Your Enthusiasm?

Or could it have been -- shudder -- both shows?; 6/19/22, 6:19 PM
Readering said...: Oirish; 6/19/22, 6:31 PM
Narr said...: I got a call from my pride and joy. No dinner though (even if I was paying)--one of his coworker's wives has Covid and he's avoiding company.

In related news, my wife's second gummint-issued Covid test (made in China and susceptible to temperature extremes) was negative today. We have many more, and I'll probably test sooner or later.

I would like to regift the last few years to China and the Ds.; 6/19/22, 6:44 PM
Big Bird said...: How sad.; 6/19/22, 6:59 PM
tcrosse said...: In the interest of clarity, re-gifted needs a hyphen. Otherwise it looks too much like regicide.; 6/19/22, 7:05 PM
Bob_R said...: Pretty funny, but not up to the heights of "Marge vs. the Monorail". But then again, not much is.; 6/19/22, 7:30 PM
Sebastian said...: Hmm. In my circle, we operate a veritable Kula ring of fuzzy feelings.; 6/19/22, 7:30 PM
Narr said...: How about re-grifting: the main activity in DC.; 6/19/22, 7:46 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "... I don't think you need to start explaining the jokes..." followed immediately by "i don't get it...."; 6/19/22, 8:33 PM
farmgirl said...: Yeah, Rabel is quite a few IQpoints higher on that ladder than I am, I guess.
I’m thinking his gift to them was that inherent stare- oh, well.

I like Gilbar’s quip about the same gift as last year, even if he doesn’t get it, either.
But, I’m smiling lol.; 6/19/22, 9:27 PM
Valentine Smith said...: That's actually the funniest thing that clown ever said.; 6/19/22, 9:49 PM
veni vidi vici said...: This use of "gifted"/"re-gifted" seems to have replaced "gave"/"given" sometime in the late 90s or thereabouts; it was never part of any discussions growing up.

Every time I hear someone say they "gifted" or "were gifted" something, I think of the Nazis and their cans of Zyklon marked "gift", which of course in German means "poison".

It's somehow no longer enough to merely give someone something (including a "gift", which is a goddam noun ffs) - people may not understand without the noun being "verbed". wtf.

In school English curricula, someone needs to revive and adapt (re-gift!) the old Burger King campaign: "Are you Verb?"; 6/20/22, 7:45 AM
PM said...: Muy fonny.; 6/20/22, 10:24 AM